Should the Fates Allow
by musicfrommykeyboard
Summary: Link has defeated the dark lord Ganondorf and completed his quest as the hero of time, but what's next? What lies in his future? Follow Link as he encounters old friends, old enemies, and his most mysterious challenge yet: love. Rated T for mild violence, minor adult themes, and references to alcohol. LinkxIlia.
1. Chapter 1, Loose Ends

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, including, but not limited to, characters, locations, themes, plots, or anything of the sort. If I did, I would not be writing this. **

**Forward:**

** After I finished playing Twilight Princess, like when you finish a good book, I didn't want the story to end. I wanted to see what would happen to Link after he finished his quest. I decided to look up a fanfiction to see what other people came up with. I wasn't satisfied with any of them. They were either too short, too sexual, too unoriginal, or just boring. I don't mean to be picky, but I felt that Link's relationship with Ilia should be expanded upon, but I haven't come across a fanfic that does it for me. Instead of giving up, I decided to write my own. This story will be long, perhaps a bit tedious at times, detailed, slow, and fairly innocent. I feel that this is a reflection on the relationship that Link and Ilia would share. There will be no lemons, limes, or any other citrus fruit you can think of. This is purely a story of friendship, adventure, and love. That being said, this is also my first attempt at writing a fanfic, so please comment, praise, or critique my work when you're done. Enjoy!**

Prologue

Link sat under a tree, just west of Hyrule Castle Town. The memories of the past weeks swirled around in his mind, but one of them stood out among the rest. He couldn't shake the feeling of loss from his final farewell to Midna. He recalled it with perfect precision.

**. . .**

Midna approached the Twilight Mirror, the gate between her kingdom, the Twilight Realm, and Hyrule. A quiet gust of wind filled the silent of the arbiter's grounds. Midna turned to face him and Zelda as the glowing staircase materialized from the platform on which they stood.

"Thank you..." Midna said solemnly, "Well, the princess spoke truly: as long as that mirror's around, we could meet again..." A glowing yellow tear appeared on her pale face. "Link... I..." she started. The tear rose off her cheek and began floating towards him and Zelda. Midna gently pushed the tear away from her. It continued to float away, slowly bobbing up and down. It sparkled with a gentle magic. "See you later..." she said, finally.

The tear flowed through the air for what seemed like an eternity. Link stared, wondering why Midna had propelled the tear towards him. But he soon realized that it was not headed for him, or even Zelda, but rather towards the Twilight Mirror. It slowly passed through it, directly through the Triforce symbol in the center of its beautiful surface. A faint purple splotch appeared where the tear hit the mirror, and it expanded towards the outer edges. Following the expanding ring was an ever-growing series of cracks on its crystal surface. Link and Zelda gasped before turning to Midna once again.

She was already halfway up the staircase before he realized what was happening. He tried to say something, but he caught his breath as she turned and looked him in the eyes. He saw not anger, nor joy. He only saw strength. Strength, and a deep pain. She smiled as the mirror's magic began to form around her. Its light transformed her tall figure into a bright mist before it entered the portal. Link could only stare as his guide, his companion, his friend, was whisked away before his eyes. He wanted to call out to her, to just say goodbye, but he couldn't move a muscle. The light receded back into the Twilight Mirror, and with a heart-wrenching crash, it shattered into a thousand tiny shards, forever breaking his only link to Midna.

**. . .**

And so here he sat. The moon's light illuminated the vast expanse of Hyrule Field. Zelda's magic had returned them to Lake Hylia, and they exchanged few words as they walked back to Castle Town. They parted, and Link took a seat against a large tree. Epona, his horse, stood a few feet away, grazing on the lush grass. His back against the trunk of the tree, his shield and sheath at his side, and his mind in the clouds, Link sat in confusion and sadness.

"Why did she have to shatter the mirror?" he said out loud, to nobody in particular. Epona gave a muffled grunt and shook her mane, as if in response. Link smiled, cleared his head, and picked himself up off the ground. He reattached his sheath to his back and mounted Epona. He couldn't mope around any longer. He had work to do.

Chapter 1: Loose Ends

As the first hints of dawn started creeping over the mountains, Link arrived at the site of his final battle with the demon lord Ganondorf. Link still needed to retrieve the Master Sword and return it to its pedestal in the Sacred Grove. He found the haunting silhouette of his adversary against the horizon. His body stood upright, with the blade that had slain him still within his chest. The flesh and bones were gone, but something still held the armor in place. Wearily, Link dismounted his horse and approached the ghostly carcass. He placed his hand on the hilt of the blade and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. He put his other hand on it and yanked it free. The Master Sword flew out of the chest plate as the armor began to crumble. The dark metal collapsed into a pile on the ground before a black flame consumed what was left of Ganondorf. The armor disintegrated into the air, and Link thought he could hear the dying cry of the bearer of the Triforce of power passing over the wind.

He reexamined his sacred blade, but something was amiss. It didn't seem right. He lifted it up with his left arm until the tip of the blade pointed outwards from his body, perpendicular to the ground. It seemed... heavier?

His quest was over. He had served his role as the Hero of Time. He was still able to wield the sacred blade, but he was no longer its chosen master. He placed it back in his sheath, climbed into Epona's saddle, and set off for the Sacred Grove.

The sun had just peaked over the tips of the mountains by the time he entered the Ordona province. He reached where the paths split to Faron Woods and back to Ordon village. He left Epona at the crossroads and entered the dark cave that lead deep into the woods. Since peace had been restored to Hyrule, the level of monster activity had significantly decreased. The Keese were no longer as bold, and the Bokoblins had retreated into the furthest stretches of the kingdom. He walked through Faron woods with lantern in hand, ready to defend himself, but there was never a need. He reached the shack that served as the bird's store in a few minutes. He approached the ravine that lay between Faron Woods and the Sacred Grove, wishing that Midna could have just used her magic to teleport him there. Instead, with some skillful use of his claw shots, he entered the home of the Master Sword with relative ease.

As Link traversed through the various paths, he kept an eye out for the skull kid that had given him such a hard time on his last few trips there. There was no sign of any danger, and before long he was standing in the clearing where he had first found the Master Sword. The temple that had once guarded this heavenly blade was long gone, but it was still safe. No evil could ever touch it. He slowly walked to the center of the clearing where the empty pedestal lay. He drew the sword from his back and let the light glint off its illustrious surface. He held it high above his head, grasped it with both hands, turned its point towards the ground, and plunged it into its slot.

Nothing. Not even a sound. It just fit snuggly into its place, as if it had just collapsed into its bed after a long days' work. Link marveled at the unceremonious farewell to his weapon as he walked away from the clearing. It seemed like his allies on his adventure all felt like no words needed to be exchanged. Link returned to Faron woods, solemnly and silently.

**. . .**

As Link entered the cave that connected Faron Woods to the clearing that lead to Ordon village, he heard the unmistakable cries of a swarm of Keese. He readied his slingshot for the coming attack. The glowing eyes of a dozen flying beasts appeared from around a dark corner, but they paid him no attention. Instead, they flew far above his head and scattered into the morning sky. Link quickly turned his attention back to the mouth of the cave. Something had scared those Keese. Something big. He reached for his blade, but quickly realized that he had already left it behind. Instead, he pulled out his bow and quickly notched an arrow.

Link listened patiently, waiting for whatever was lurking in the cave to reveal itself. He heard the sound of footsteps approaching, but they weren't human. No, this beast was much larger. It was walking on at least four legs. A dark shadow rounded the bend quickly. Link quickly drew back his bow, ready to fire. The figure saw him, and rushed towards him. Link began to let his fingers release the arrow, but quickly stopped when he heard a whinny. Epona had come through the cave in search for him. Link let out a sigh of relief before putting away his bow and walking over to comfort his anxious horse. She was so close to home, and she wanted to get back to her village.

Unfortunately for Epona, Link wasn't ready to head home yet. As the pair walked out of the other side of the cave, Link steered Epona away from the entrance to Ordon village. With a reluctant snort, Epona followed the orders of her master. Link climbed into the saddle and spurred her on towards Hyrule Field. He still had to retrieve the children from Kakariko village.

By the time Link had crossed the bridge that spanned Kakariko Gorge, it was nearly noon. He entered Kakariko village, eager to see his friends again. But unlike other visits, he didn't see any of them playing in the street, climbing the tower on the far side of town, or playing in the spring. Link brought Epona to a steady trot as he scanned the town for any residents. The "Malo Mart" that Malo had set up in the abandoned store was completely empty. Even his silly posters had been taken down.

"Hello?" Link shouted into the quiet village.

"Link? What are you doing here?" said a voice from behind his back. Link turned to see Luda, the daughter of the village shaman, Renado, standing in the doorway to the hotel.

"Well... I'm here to bring the Ordon children home." Link stuttered.

"But they... maybe you should speak with my father," she replied meekly.

Link dismounted Epona and walked with Luda to her house. Once inside, Renado approached Link with a confused but gentle expression.

"Hello Link! Nice of you to stop by! What brings you to Kakariko village this time?" he boomed.

"I came to bring Ilia and the rest of the children home, sir." Link said.

"Well, I'm afraid your work has already been done! Telma, the woman Castle Town, came here just yesterday to bring them all home in her wagon. I imagine that they are already safe back in Ordon village by now."

Link sighed, "Well that's good, I guess. Thank you, Renaldo, for taking care of them while they were here. I'll just be going home than."

"It was my pleasure. Please, do visit us again some time!"

Link exited Renaldo's home and called Epona over to him. She was tired, and so was he. He whispered softly into her ear, "Don't worry, we're going home now." She let out a soft whinny of pleasure at the thought of her comfy spot by Link's house. Link mounted her once again and rode out of Kakariko village, eager to see his friends again.

Especially Ilia.

**It's kind of slow going. Don't worry, the story will pick up soon. I just have a lot of details I'd like to get down.**


	2. Chapter 2, Home

Chapter 2: Home

The sun was bearing down heavily on the plains of Hyrule Field as Link left village. Hot, tired, and eager to get home, he spurred Epona to a steady gallop. He entered the narrow passage that connected the plains of southern Eldin province and northern Ordona province at a considerable speed. As he rounded the tight corner, he saw a figure dressed in white with a red banner attached to his back running towards him. He recognized the postman in his ridiculous outfit just as he flew past him. The postman let out a started yelp and fell onto his back. Apparently he hadn't seen Link coming. Link looked over his shoulder to see if he was OK. Letters from his pouch had been scattered all around him, and some of them fluttered around his head as he frantically searched his body for any injuries. Link couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the silly encounter as he turned his attention back to riding.

A few Kargarocs circled in the distance, their shrill cries and loud wing-strokes signaling their presence, but none of them ever came near Link. It was lucky that so few enemies ever confronted Link now that he no longer had the Master Sword. Although he was a warrior in spirit, he secretly hoped that he could leave his fighting days behind him and return to life as it was before this mess that he had gotten mixed up in. Was he glad he had his adventure? "Of course!" he thought to himself. It had made him stronger. But after weeks of fighting, adventuring, and saving the kingdom, he needed a rest.

Before he knew it, he was already entering the Ordona province. Coro, the man who had given him his lantern when he first started his adventure, was sitting outside his hut, as he usually did at this time of day. He waved as Link rode past, and Link returned the gesture with a smile. He came to the crossroads between the path to the village and Faron Woods as he had earlier that day, but this time, he took the southern path. Epona gave an excited whinny as she sped up into a full sprint. They were both eager to get home.

**. . .**

Ilia sat on the back of Telma's wagon, making her latest craft. Until that day when the moblins attacked Ordon village and kidnapper the children, including herself, she had been working on a horse call for Link. While she was imprisoned, it had been a sort of lucky charm for her. Now she was whittling a little wooden horse. She had a lot of down-time while waiting for Link to return home, and she wanted something to do to keep herself from worrying too much.

From her seat on the back of the wagon, she could watch the entrance to village for Link's arrival. Malo and Talo were playing in the spring outside of town, so they were acting as scouts for the town's newfound hero. The wagon was stationed just across the clearing from Link's house. Telma had brought them all home the night before, and Mayor Bo had insisted that she get straight to bed. Not only was he leader of the village, but he was also her father. She got up early the next morning to keep her promise to Link.

After Link had restored her memory with the horse charm, she'd promised him that after he had completed his quest and could return home, that she would be waiting for him. It was in that moment that she felt something different between them. Something greater than a childhood friendship. She couldn't describe it, but she knew that they had a special bond between them.

Talo's shouts brought her out of her daydream. "He's coming! Link's almost home!" he yelled as he ran up the slope.

"Link's back?" Ilia stood up from her seat, hardly able to contain her excitement. "How do you know?"

"I heard a horse coming across the bridge! It's gotta be him! I have to tell the others!" He waved goodbye as he sprinted towards the rest of town.

Ilia looked towards the clearing and sure enough, she saw Epona bounding through the woods. Link was carrying Malo as he held onto Epona. His face was bright, lively, and full of pride as he approached Ordon village. His eyes met hers, and he shouted a greeting. She waved and began walking forwards to meet him. He swung his leg over the saddle and hopped off, setting Malo onto the ground. He ran up to her with open arms, happier than he had been for too long. She opened her arms and laughed as she threw herself onto him. They embraced, and Link spun Ilia around once before setting her down again.

"It's so good to see you again Ilia! And to be home!" Link said enthusiastically.

"I'm just glad you made it back safely." Ilia replied.

They turned to see the rest of the villagers rushing up to greet him. Link was overrun with pats on the back, firm handshakes, and shouts of praise. Ilia was slowly wedged to the outside of the crowd that had encircled him, and she called out his name to get his attention.

"We'll talk later! I promise!" Link said as he was dragged into town by the rest of his friends.

Ilia was left alone in the clearing. She sighed and went back to the wagon to pick up her tools and sculpture before following the others back into town. "They'll settle down by supper. I'll have plenty of time to talk to Link" she told herself.

**. . .**

Link tried to address each person in the crowd individually, but with all of the questions being thrown at him, he found it impossible. Eventually he just resorted to thanking everyone for their compliments and ignored the questions altogether. Out of breath, tired, and sore, he was nearing the end of his patience, which was unusually short today. Mayor Bo saw the exasperated look on the town's new hero's face and quickly stood up on a rock by the clearing in the middle of the village.

Mayor Bo cleared his throat and spoke, "Alright everyone, settle down!" He motioned with his arms for the crowd to silence, and they all turned to him. "Yes, we are all excited to have Link back," he boomed, "but this is just too much. The boy can get a word out with all of your questions and prompting! Allow some conversation, one or two people at a time, and you'll all get a chance." Murmurs of agreement rustled through the village folk. "I want the rest of you to help prepare for a feast!" he shouted.

The crowd cheered at the prospect of a festival dinner. Their harvest celebration wasn't for another week or so, but nobody cared about that. They all quickly dispersed to go prepare. Hanch and Jaggle began collecting pumpkins, Pergie and Uli started baking dishes, Rusl helped Fado gather goat cheese, and Sera went to her store to be ready with any supplies that people might need.

"Thank you sir," Link said to Mayor Bo.

"Oh, don't thank me; I only did it as an excuse to throw a party!" Bo said with a grin. Link gave him a perplexed look, surprised by his frankness. "I'm only joking Link!" the mayor laughed as he slapped Link on the back. "I'm going to go set up the tables and such for our dinner. It looks like you have some fans who would like to speak to you." He motioned to the children behind Link as he walked towards his home.

Link turned to face Beth, Malo and Talo as they stood shyly waiting his acknowledgment. He smiled and opened his arms to them. Beth and Talo smiled as they threw themselves into him. Malo, as always, looked solemnly on the scene, glad that he didn't have to get involved. Together, the four of them sat down by the pond behind Sera's Sundries. Link told them all about his adventures while he was away. Talo particularly liked his description of his battle with the dark lord Ganondorf. Beth was more interested in the role of Princess Zelda. She still felt cheated after she found out that the Zora boy she tended to in the Kakariko hotel was actually prince, believing she could have become a princess.

As Link described his encounter with Zelda for the first time, his mind started to drift. They had said very little to each other after Midna's departure into the Twilight Realm. Now he wished he had said something more... memorable. He hoped that wasn't the last time he would see her. He shook the thought from his head, realizing he had left the children hanging on the edge of a thread. He continued his story, but more distant and distracted.

Sera came out from her store and addressed the children, "Alright kids, it's time to leave Link alone. You can hear plenty about his adventures at dinner time." The all gave a whiny moan before standing up to go help their parents with the preparations. Sera then turned to Link and said "Thanks for entertaining them for so long. I'm sure you'd like to rest, hmm?"

"I guess, but is there anything I can do to help? There's a lot to do," Link responded with an anxious smile. He did want to rest, but he also didn't want to be rude.

"Well no, I can't think of anything. You could ask elsewhere," Sera suggested as she returned to her store.

Link let out a sigh of relief that he might have a moment of peace before supper, but he suddenly saw Ilia, waiting for him to be done with his conversation. She was sitting on the end of the dock, her bare feet dangling in the water, when she looked up and gave an excited smile. She got up and started trotting around the windmill that served as Jaggle and Pergie's house, and he smiled, glad that he could finally speak with her. But just as she was crossing the stream, Hanch ran up to Link and vigorously took his right hand into his own.

"I can't thank you enough for saving my darling daughter," he sputtered as he shook Link's sword hand. "I just don't know what I would have done if I had lost her!"

"Really sir, it was nothing," Link said, trying to find a way to break the conversation.

Ilia stood about 20 feet behind Hanch, standing awkwardly with her hands behind her back, trying not to look at them both.

"Nothing? You call that nothing? That was spectacular! I heard that you've saved all of Hyrule! Well, I guess if you think about it, saving a few kids isn't that much compared to a kingdom, but it certainly means a lot to me! Not that I can be of the judge of something like that..." Hanch's rambling wasn't going to end anytime soon. Link sighed and shrugged towards Ilia, who gave a brief nod before strolling off to help her father.

This cycle of being distracted by other town's folk continued the rest of the afternoon. Just as both Link and Ilia found a free moment, somebody else swept in and showered Link with questions. The sun was almost set by the time everyone had talked to him. All except for Ilia.

Supper was finally ready. A large wooden table was set out in the clearing in the middle of the town. The table was set with the best plates and silverware they had, which wasn't too spectacular. But the food was superb. Pergie and Uli had created a wide variety of dishes using Ordon's main exports: pumpkins and goat cheese. They had pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, a cheesy vegetable salad, roasted boar, and for dessert, a pumpkin pie and a chocolate-marble cheese cake. The adults all sat at one table, with Mayor Bo at the head and Link at his right side, and the children sat at the small picnic table off to the side. Unfortunately, Ilia had been selected to eat with the children and make sure they didn't get out of hand. She normally wouldn't mind it, but now it meant that she would have to wait until after supper to talk to Link at all! She couldn't even hear him speak over the kids.

Link spent almost the whole meal highlighting his travels. He had told most of his favorite stories by that point to various villagers, so he was a little more well-rehearsed. They all seemed astounded by his bravery and courage in the face of horrible danger. Rusl and Mayor Bo were the only ones who had truly interacted with him during his adventures, so when a particular person didn't believe his story (most of the time it was Fado, Link's employer), they were quick to verify his story.

As the evening wore on, the adults grew tipsy from their drinks, the children grew tired of playing games at their table, and Link and Ilia grew impatient. Finally, Mayor Bo stood up from the table a formally ended the feast. The parents took their kids back to their houses, the rest of the residents stumbled back to their homes, and the young teenagers were finally left alone. The last peaks of sunlight spread across the green hills surrounding the village. The first stars started appearing in the deep red sky. Their faces were illuminated by hues of red and orange. Twilight: Link's favorite time of day.

"Uh, hey," Link said finally.

"Hi," Ilia responded awkwardly.

"Let's go watch the sun set."

"Ok."

They walked off towards the ridge south of town together, glad to be in each other's company again. It was just like old times. But they couldn't help thinking that things couldn't, and shouldn't, be the same between them again.


	3. Chapter 3, Complications

Chapter 3: Complications

Two figures lay side by side on their backs atop the roof of Mayor Bo's house. They had their hands behind their heads, their elbows nearly touching, while they stared up at the scores of stars glittering in the sky. Few words had been said. There was so much to talk about. Where to start? Finally, one of them spoke up.

"I missed you," he said.

"I missed you too," she replied. "Even after I lost my memory, I felt certain loneliness, like I had lost my best friend."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I did. But do you know what the worst part about missing you was?" the girl asked, turning her head to her companion.

"What?" he said with a furrowed brow.

"The worst part..." she paused, collecting her thoughts, "was that I couldn't remember anything about you." She looked back up into the sky. "Nothing. Not even how you acted around me. All I knew is that I missed having my friend right beside me. You always have been, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I guess we have always been friends," the boy said, rolling onto his back again.

"Best friends," she added.

"For me, the worst part was when I saved Castle Town from the twilight and went back to Telma's Bar. I could finally see you again, and I was excited to tell you about all the things I had seen, but you didn't recognize me." She could here the pain in his voice. "At first I thought that you were mad at me for not being there sooner or something."

"No, never! I could never be mad at you!" she said with concern. She wasn't defensive or hurt, but just surprised.

"I know, that's why it was so awful! I just didn't know why. It was only a moment before Telma explained why you didn't recognize me, but it felt like much longer. And afterwards, I just felt helpless. I hate not being able to help things. I mean, if I had a problem on my adventure, I'd figure out the puzzle or just hack my way through it with a sword." They laughed, although it was a cautious laugh. "But, I mean, when you lost your memory, for the longest time I couldn't help at all. All I could do was make sure you were safe."

"And when you protected the wagon on the way to Kakariko Village," she said excitedly, "I didn't remember who you were, but the fact that you were the one protecting me just, I don't know... it made me feel safe. I always feel safe around you."

"I'm glad to hear that. I'd never want to do anything to hurt you."

At that moment, Ilia felt something strong rising within her. It wasn't fear, which had dominated her psyche for the longest time. It wasn't happiness or joy, because there was a desire that wanted to be filled. She didn't understand it. "I have to tell you something," she said quickly, rolling onto her side and supporting herself on her arm.

Link looked over at Ilia. If it had been lighter outside, she would have seen her cheeks turning a rosy pink. But instead, he just heard a timid, embarrassment in her voice. "What is it? Is something wrong?" He sat up and turned his upper torso to face her.

"It's just... I wanted to say something the night I got my memory back, I just felt too scared. I didn't know what would happen. But know that we've talked a little bit more... I-I mean, I think it's what I think it is," her voice trailed off in a nervous sigh.

"Ilia," Link said softly, placing his hand over hers, "You can tell me. We're friends, right? It's ok. I won't be mad or anything."

"No, it's not like that," she said and turned her head away from his. "I just don't want it to be just that like that... I mean..."

Link shuffled closer to her and slowly lifted her face back to his with his free hand. They were only inches apart. "You can tell me."

"I-I... Link, I..." she couldn't find the words. Her mind was completely blank. All except for Link. She trembled under his touch. Without thinking, she placed her arm behind his ear and quickly brought her lips to his. She kissed him, unable to speak a word.

Link, more surprised than anything, reeled back. He was too shocked to think clearly. He broke off the kiss and kicked his way back from her, eyes wide, but in the process caused her to slide down the rooftop. Ilia screamed, unable to gain a foothold. Her knees were almost over the side of the roof by the time Link reacted. He grabbed a sturdy beam with one arm and Ilia's closest hand with his other. The slack between their arms ran out, and Ilia came to a halt with more than half her body dangling over the edge.

"Ow! You're hurting my arm!" she screamed angrily. She looked down and saw a drop greater than thirty feet. If she fell, it would be painful. She turned to Link, who was still dazed from her unexpected advance. "Help me up, you idiot!"

"Sorry!" He planted his feet and began pulling her back onto the roof.

"Ow ow ow ow! Not so hard!"

As soon as he was able, Link grabbed Ilia's other hand and pulled her onto his lap. "I am so sorry! Are you ok? I just... didn't know how to rea-"

"Get your hands off me!" she screamed, more upset than mad. She yanked her hands out of grasp and stood up, tears already streaming down her cheeks. She didn't look at him. Instead, she started walking towards the ladder on the other side of the roof.

"Ilia, wait! I'm sorry!" Link called out.

"Just... leave me alone! Forget I said anything!" Ilia sobbed. She ran around to the front of her house and slammed the door behind her.

Link just sat there shocked. Finally, he closed his eyes and clenched his fist. "Argh! Why am I such an idiot?" he screamed. He wasn't mad at Ilia; He was mad at himself. He had hurt her. Worse than that, he had completely ruined the moment and rejected her display of affection. He climbed off the roof and approached her door, determined to apologize and make amends, but before he could knock on the door, he heard a familiar voice shouting from across the street.

"Heeey! Mr. Liiink!"

"Oh no, not now," he muttered.

Behind him, panting and sweaty, was the Postman. "I have a specially delivery for you! It's from Princess Zelda herself!" Sure enough, he handed Link a letter with the official Hyrulian Royal Family Seal, but not without first humming his ridiculous fanfare.

Link quickly opened the letter. Whatever Zelda had sent him, it had to be important. The letter read:

Hero Link,  
You are cordially invited to be the guest of honor at the festival celebrating Hyrule's victory over Lord Ganondorf and his evil forces. The feast will be held tonight, so please arrive post-haste in order to make the necessary preparations. I am looking forward to seeing you again!  
~Princess Zelda

"Tonight? Why wasn't this letter delivered early?" Link questioned aggressively.

"I apologize Mr. Link, but while making my rounds earlier today, some clumsy buffoon whipped past me on a horse and spilt my mail all over Hyrule Field! It took me hours just to pick it all up, and don't even get me started on re-organizing it. I didn't see who it was, but when I find them, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!"

Link's stomach dropped to his feet. He should have been at the castle hours ago!

"Well, my business is concluded! And sorry about the delay." The Postman ran off without missing a beat.

Unfortunately, Ilia would have to wait. Link quickly ran to his house and untied Epona. He didn't have time to gather all of his gear, so he just took his bow and quiver, claw shots, shield, and lantern. Epona gave a stifled huff as Link mounted her saddle and took hold of the reigns. Link was just about to spur her into a gallop when he heard Rusl speak up from behind him.

"Link? What are you doing? Why are you riding out at this time of night? You just got back home."

Rusl was standing next to Telma's wagon, which still had the brown horse tied to the front.

Link sighed and turned Epona to the side so he could face his companion. "It's a long story, but I have to go to Hyrule Castle Town. Princess Zelda has summoned me, and I'm already very late. Please tell the others where I went. I'll try to be back by tomorrow."

"I don't understand, but I trust you. I'll make sure they find out. Take care," Rusl said.

"I will, thanks." Link replied. And with that, gave a quick "hiya!" and rode out of town.

**. . .**

Mayor Bo heard the door open from his seat at his desk. He looked up and saw Ilia hustle in and slam the door behind her. She tried to hide her face, but he could tell that she was crying.

"Ilia, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" He stood up and ran over to her. She quickly ran up the stairs to her room. Bo stayed at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm sorry, I just... I don't want to talk about it. I just want to be alone." She sniffed and sat down on her bed. A painful silence followed.

"If you insist," Bo sighed. "But I'm here for you whenever you feel ready."

Ilia started to calm herself down. She stopped crying and composed herself before standing up and walked over to the window. She leaned on the sill and looked outside. She saw the Link running down the street towards his house. The cliffs blocked her view of his house, but she could see over the ridge to the path leading out of town. A few minutes later, she saw Link riding Epona towards the spring.

"He's leaving?" she thought to herself. "Is it because of me?" She climbed onto her bed and tried to fall asleep, but her mind was too preoccupied. She reflected on the events of the day, on her actions. It had seemed like the perfect moment, but neither of them were really ready for what happened. She didn't feel that upset anymore. She just felt lonely. If she ever wanted Link by her side, it was now. But instead, he was on his way to who knows where in the middle of the night, not even a full day after he returned home. That made her cry again.

"It's going to be a long night," Ilia thought.

**. . .**

"It's going to be a long night," Link thought.

Link was halfway to Castle Town and his mind was beginning to wander. He tried to shake the events of the past day from his head. He was tired, and everything whizzed by him in a blur. Link may have been holding the reigns, but Epona was steering herself. Link was too caught up in his own thoughts to pay attention to where he was going. Between returning the Master Sword, Kakariko Village, the Ordon feast, and his incident with Ilia, he was completely drained. He didn't know how he would get through this festival Zelda had planned.

Before he knew it, he was at the southern gate of Castle Town. A watch guard spotted him and gave a signal. In a moment, half a dozen soldiers in full uniform rushed out of the guard house and lined up in front of the draw bridge. Curious of their intentions, Link road Epona forward. Without warning, they simultaneously drew their swords and saluted him.

"Hail, Link of Ordon, Savior of Hyrule!" they shouted in unison. They formed two lines, allowing Link to pass. Link dismounted Epona and led her forward with her reigns. The gate was closed, but two guards were stationed on either side. They nodded to him and marched to the large handles at the end of the doors. The guard on the left turned to Link and said "Sir, you might want to get back on your horse."

Link was about to ask why, but before he could ask, the guards opened the gate, revealing a crowd of people cheering and shouting his praise. Now he saw why. Not a moment after he hopped into Epona's saddle did the throngs of people surround him. Epona gave a nervous whiny as Link prompted her forward. People tried to move out of the way, but the crowd was very thick. Those close to him tried to give him some space, but everyone else kept pushing in. A tall man with a mighty pike was pushing his way through the crowd. He wore a uniform identical to the guards, but he didn't have a helmet on, and on his chest was a golden banner displaying the Hyrulian Royal Family crest.

Once he was in front of Link, he turned around and faced the crowd. He drew a deep breath and shouted "Everybody MOVE!" He waved the people back and cleared a way for the hero in green. He turned to Link and said "Welcome to Castle Town! My name is Ralin. I'm captain of the palace guard."

"A pleasure to meet you, Sir," Link said with a smile. "Thank you," he added.

"The pleasure is all mine," Ralin insisted. "It is an honor to meet you. I've heard many tales of your brave and noble adventures."

Link smiled, feeling rather embarrassed. He wasn't used to this kind of praise. The crowd certainly didn't help either. Suddenly, a few women in the front row were pushed aside by three girls, who dashed out into the street towards Link. He'd seen them around town before. The one with the blue hair, Misha, whispered something to the one with green hair, Hanna. They giggled and Hanna stepped forward.

"Um, hi Link. We were wondering if we could..." she paused and looked back at her friends. They both nodded and Hanna turned towards Link again. "We want to ride your horse, _please_?"

"Absolutely NOT!" Ralin said with a scoff. "Get off the streets!"

"Aawwww" the girls whined, drooping their arms and hunching their shoulders.

"Wait," Link said before they turned around. "I guess... you can pet her."

The girls squealed with joy and threw themselves at Epona. They stroked her mane and giggled when she tried to shake them off of her.

"Alright, that's enough! We're running late as it is!" Ralin said angrily. Kili, Hanna and Misha shouted thanks to Link before disappearing back into the crowd.

Ralin and the other guards led Link around the fountain in the center of town and up the stairs towards the castle. It was very obvious that the battle had taken its toll on the great palace. The throne room at the top was almost totally obliterated, but the rest of it still seemed to be intact. The guards opened the gate into the courtyard, which was lined with grand arrangement of tables and benches. There were lanterns illuminating the incredible array of food. Waiters and waitresses in black and white uniforms stood along the tables. Link saw Princess Zelda sitting in a throne at the head of the largest table. She looked very beautiful, clothed in a fine purple dress, laced with golden thread and large jewels. At this point, Link dismounted Epona, who was led away by another soldier. Ralin escorted Link to the Zelda's side. She smiled and nodded for him to take the seat on her right side.

"You're very late," she scolded out of the corner of her mouth. "You've caused me a lot of trouble." She never broke her smile as she gazed into the crowd, which was now seating itself at the tables.

"Sorry, but I didn't get your invitation until after nightfall," Link whispered back. "I got here as fast as I could."

"That Postman is going to pay for this. He's kept these people waiting for hours! Now you can't wear the outfit I picked out for you."

"It's not really his fault," Link said, apologetically. "I kind of messed up his bag."  
"How did you... never mind. I'll just give him a strict warning." Zelda stood up and raised her glass. The towns' people quieted themselves and turned their heads. "Let the festival begin!" she shouted, and everyone dug in.


	4. Chapter 4, A Friendship Tested

**Wow, it has been way too long since I've updated this. I'm sorry for those of you who are following this, and hopefully you haven't given up on it. I still plan on writing, but I ran into some complications, mainly my computer breaking. But now I have a new computer, I've become motivated to write again, and I've belted out a nice, long chapter. This one was particularly difficult to write, so I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 4: A Friendship Tested

The feast ran smoothly for everyone, except its hostess and guest of honor. Both Link and Princess Zelda were on edge with each other, anxious to not embarrass themselves. Link had no appetite and didn't touch his food, much to the dislike of Zelda.

"Where are your manners?" Zelda scolded. "This feast is for _you_!"

"I told you, I already ate!" Link retorted in a hushed tone. "I couldn't eat this food if I wanted to!"

"Oh, so you admit that you don't even _want_ to eat it," she said as she drilled him and icy stare.

"You… you know what I meant."

"Well, if you're not going to eat, at least have something to drink," she motioned to the silver goblet in front of him.

Link took his cup and briefly smelled the clear liquid inside. He glanced at Zelda and whispered, "This isn't wine, is it? I don't drink alcohol."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Zelda rolled her eyes. "Could you at least _pretend_ to cooperate? It's not even wine." She raised her own goblet to her lips and watched Link carefully.

Link sighed and took a sip. He tried to hold a straight face as the carbonated beverage slid down his throat, but distaste was written all over his face. "What… what _is_ it?"

"Champaign," Zelda said with a smirk. She took a sip and set down her glass, "Best in the kingdom too, so you'd better drink it." The rest of the dinner continued in much of the same fashion.

As the last of the plates and bowls were carted away by the servants, Zelda stood to address the crowd. Like before, all heads turned towards her in anticipation. She cleared her throat and spoke, "Citizens of Hyrule! In honor of our _esteemed_ guest…" she paused briefly to glare at Link, although nobody but he and Ralin noticed, "and for your entertainment, there shall be a theatre production displayed in the town square. It will begin in approximately 15 minutes, so hurry to find your seats! You are dismissed!"

The towns' people quickly shuffled out of their seats and down towards the market place. Link and Zelda were escorted by Ralin and the palace guards through the crowd. Blocking the southern entrance to the fountain was a large wooden stage, which had been set up during the evening meal. It was about 25 feet across, 15 feet deep, and 5 feet off the ground. A simple red sheet had been hung over the side to conceal the wooden scaffolding underneath. There was a 10 foot high curtain that was hung across the entirety of the stage, and there were wooden staircases on either side. Stage right, about 10 feet away from the stage, was a wooden platform with three chairs on top. This would serve as the box seats for Zelda, Link, and Ralin.

As Link began to climb the steps of the platform, Zelda called out to him. He turned to face her, his feet already on the second step.

"Listen, Link, I'm sorry about the way I acted at dinner. I shouldn't have been so stern with you." Zelda's eyes confirmed that she was being sincere.

"I'm sorry too," Link said, stepping down. "I was impolite and ill-behaved. Let's try to enjoy the rest of the night, agreed?"

"Agreed," Zelda replied with a nod.

"Ok you two, let's get up there before they start the show without us!" Ralin said as he shooed them up the stairs.

Zelda took the seat in the middle, with Ralin on her left and Link on her right. The crowd hushed as the square's lanterns were dimmed, and a silhouette of a man stepped out from the curtain. A single spotlight was cast upon him as he struck a dashing pose. His figure was radiant, almost reflective in his spectacular apparel. Link instantly recognized him as the man from the STARs tent on the west side of town.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began. "Boys and girls, priests and princesses, housemaids and heroes! It is my privilege and pleasure to introduce the first performance by the National Hyrule Theatre Troop!" He bowed elegantly and the crowd applauded. "We have a spectacular show planned for you tonight, which will feature the premier of an original play, written and directed by yours truly, a story of wit, valor, courage, and destiny! A historic account, to be sure, comprised of events retold from sources stretching to the furthest reaches of Hyrule." The crowd murmured in anticipation.

"I would also like to extend my greeting to our esteemed guest of honor!" The spotlight suddenly whipped over to the wooden box seat, illuminating Link's bright red cheeks. He gave a weak wave as an acknowledgement. "Oh, Link, don't be shy," the STAR man said as the spotlight fell back on his beaming face. "I'm sure you'll enjoy the show. And without further adieu, people of Castle Town, I give you… The Hero of Hyrule!"

"This aught to be interesting," Zelda whispered as the man exited the stage and the curtain was drawn back. The spotlight was snuffed and the stage lights were lit. The scenery was that of farmland, with bales of hay, quant little houses, and a barn.

"If they're trying to make it look like Ordon Village," Link said to Zelda, "they're a little bit off the mark."

Just then a young boy dressed in a green tunic and tan linens hopped out onto the stage. He wore a green cap like Link, but it was pointed straight up into the air. He had a blonde wig on, as well as enlarged ears on the side of his head. Clearly, this boy was human and not hylian, like Link. He took off his cap and made a sweeping bow. "Hello!" he began. "My name's Link, and I'm from Ordon village. As you probably know, the Ordon province lies just south of Faron Woods, and our main exports include pumpkins, goat's cheese, and legendary heroes!" He placed his hands on his hips and grinned as the audience chuckled and laughed. "I'm off to Hyrule Castle, where I will deliver my provinces' customary offering!"

Suddenly, the lighting changed. It gave off an eerie yellow glow, and dark specks of paper began blowing around the stage.

"But what's this? Where has this strange energy come from?" Link's counterpart asked. Just then a figure dressed in all black came stumbling onto the stage. He wore a large grey mask and had black strips of cloth hanging from his arms and legs. He was walking almost on all fours, and he kept tripping over the black strips. He lost his balance and fell face-first onto the ground, right at the boy's feet, producing an uproar of laughter from the town's people. He quickly stood up and shakily pointed a finger at the stage Link.

His voice cracked as he spoke, "Stop right there, farm boy! I've come to steal the power from your forest spirit to cover it with the evil Twinlight!"

"Wait, did he just say 'twinlight'?" asked Zelda, turning her head towards Link.

"You cannot stop me shadow creature! Not even with your magic Twinlight!" said the stage Link confidently, placing his hands on his hips.

"You're right, they definitely said 'twinlight'," answered Link. "How could they mess up something like that?"

The stage Link drew his sword and slashed at the shadow beast. The man in black maneuvered around the stage in a low crouch, or at least tried to. He clumsily staggered towards the edge of the stage, before coming to a halt. Stage Link pulled his sword to beside his head and tensed up. The shadow beast lunged and gave a rather pitiful roar, but was conked on the head by the sword prop. He collapsed onto the ground and rolled over onto his back, squirming feebly. He moaned and raised his clenched hand toward the boy in green. "Mark my words, Link! You may have defeated me, but you will never defeat my master, Zant! He will cover all of Hyrule with the Twinlight, and then he will possess the ultimate power!" He choked and gasped, flailing his arms around before settling into a slow twitch.

"Yeah, right, how can Zant be so hard when his soldier can't even stand up straight?" teased stage Link, which produced another bought of laughter from the audience.

"I can't watch this, they're making a fool out of me," Link complained, placing his hand over his reddened face.

"Oh come on, I'm sure it'll get better," assured Zelda.

Only it didn't. In fact, as the play lurched along, it was obvious that the writer could have spent a little more time in his research. The play failed to mention anything about Link's transformation into a wolf, the Mirror of Twilight shards, the bublin invasion, the city in the sky, rescuing the Ordon children, including Ilia, the twilight realm, and most importantly, any hint of Midna's existence.

"Well, that was a flop," Zelda sighed after the curtain finally closed.

"I'll say, and I didn't even catch half the stuff they missed!" exclaimed Ralin.

"At least the audience seemed to like it," Link muttered. "After all, they're still clapping. I just don't get how they missed all those important details!"

"Well, think about it," Zelda said with her hand on her chin, looking off to the side. "They never consulted us about the events, and we're the only ones who weren't turned to ghosts in the twilight. We are also the only ones who knew about Midna."

"Who's Midna?" said the puzzled Ralin.

"Exactly! And of course nobody would have seen your transformation, Link! Midna would never let you with somebody nearby. Unfortunately for everyone, not many people know what actually happened on your journey, and we can never tell them."

Now Link was the puzzled one. "What do you mean we can't tell anyone? What's stopping us from walking up on stage and exposing this fool for who he really is?"

"Don't you see? If we tell people about the true events that took place, they may come to know about the Triforce! It's supposed to be hidden from people so they can't steal it and use its power for evil." As Zelda finished her explanation, Ralin nodded in approval.

"Well if nobody is supposed to know about it, why isn't Ralin asking about it?" Link said inquisitively.

"He's my bodyguard. He'd better know that he's guarding more than a princess, you know." Zelda stretched her arms up and yawned. "Well, *sigh* I'm going to head back to the castle. Goodnight, Link."

"You're not going to stay for the party?" asked Link.

"With these folk, you never know how long it will last."

"Would you like me to accompany you, my lady?" said Ralin.

"No, I think you've worked hard enough tonight. Why don't you take an hour off and enjoy yourself?" she said with a smile.

"That's very kind of you, your highness. I will make sure I am back at the castle in one hour." Ralin was grinning ear to ear. Just then, the clock tower struck the first bell of midnight. "At precisely 1 AM!" he shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared into the crowd. Link watched him until her was out of site, and then turned back to Zelda. Only she wasn't there. She had slipped away without him noticing.

And all of the sudden, although he was surrounded by crowds of people, Link felt very alone.

**. . .**

Link didn't know how much time had passed. Inebriated people stumbled by his seat at the restaurant on the southern part of the plaza. The heat coming from the crowd was overwhelming. He wasn't one for parties, and these people just never seemed to run out of energy. A boy around Link's age came stumbling out of the mass of people congregating around the central fountain. He had glasses on, which were fogged up, no doubt from other people's sweat. He plodded up the stairs towards the open-air restaurant, glanced over in Link's direction, and smiled. It was Shad, a scholarly young man who was part of a group called the "Resistance".

"Well hey, Link! Fancy meeting you here!" he walked over and sat down by Link. He took off his glasses and started wiping of the condensation with his shirt.

"How are you doing Shad?" replied Link.

"Oh, I'm doing great! Some party, huh?"

"Oh yeah, it's a blast." Link rolled his eyes, but Shad didn't notice.

"You look kind of zoned-out, are you ok?"

"I'm just tired, is all."

"Well if you need a place to stay, just head over to my house. It's right next door to that old doctor's office, can't miss it."

"Thanks for the offer Shad, I'll remember that." Link was touched by his hospitality, but he wasn't sure about staying there.

Just then, Ralin came up to the table placed a hand on Link's shoulder. "How ya doing, Hero?" he said, a little loudly. He could smell some alcohol on his breath

"Not bad, I guess, you?" Link shrugged.

"Wonderfully! Quite the party, isn't it? I needed this break." Ralin turned to Shad. "Mind if I talk to him for a few minutes?"

"Sure, Sir, we were about finished anyway. I'll catch you later Link!" Shad nodded to them both and walked back towards the crowd. Ralin sat down in his seat.

"Listen, Link, I wanted to apologize for the way dinner went. Zelda was just trying to make things perfect," Ralin began.

"You don't need to apologize, Sir. It's not your fault or anything. Besides, she already said she was sorry."

"Yeah, I guess. But listen, I understand this is an awkward position to be in, so if you need anything, anything I might be able to help with, just let me know."

"Well, there is one thing. Is there anywhere I can stay tonight? Shad offered his place, but I don't want to impose…"

"Oh sure, we can just set you up with a room in the castle."

"But isn't the castle… mostly…" Link didn't know how to put it.

"What? Destroyed? Ha ha ha! No, my boy, it's mostly there. The only real damage was to the throne room. The living quarters are perfectly intact. Come, let's go right now, I need to report to Princess Zelda anyway."

Both of them stood up and shuffled their way through the crowd. They were let into the castle courtyard by the watch guards, and Link follow Ralin towards the main building. They came to a group of servants, who greeted them both cheerfully.

"Welcome Hero Link! And to you, Captain!"

"A fine welcome indeed. Would you be so kind as to show our guest to the living quarters and have a room prepared for him?" Ralin said.

"Certainly, follow us, Link!"

"Thanks for the help Ralin, I'll talk to you later," Link said as he turned to follow several of the servants to the east side of the courtyard.

"No trouble at all, Link. I will inform Princess Zelda of your plans to stay here for the night." Ralin replied. He entered the castle's main door.

Link was led around the castle to the side of the building. The servants brought him through a door that connected to the east wing.

"This section of the castle is the living quarters, which houses the servants and guests," Link's guide explained. "Your guest room will be the suite in the upper level, right next to the bathing room." That last part sounded particularly appealing. They went up two flights of stairs before finally entering a room through a small wooden door. Only it wasn't a bedroom. It was some sort of storage closet.

"Here, we'll grab you a towel and a fresh set of clothes," the servant said, grabbing a white towel, some brown pair of trousers and a plain shirt. "We can wash your other clothes, if you like."

"Thank you, but I'll just do it myself in the wash house," Link replied.

"Suit yourself. Your room is one door down the hall, the bathing room, two doors down."

Link passed by his room and went straight for the bath. Once inside, he stripped, hanging his towel on a rack next to the basin, and stepped into the freshly filled tub. The water was smooth and warm, and Link sighed as he sunk beneath the surface. He spent most of his time just soaking up the comfort, instead of washing himself. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a hot bath. When he cleaned himself, it was mostly in the icy cold pond back in Ordon. This was simply heavenly.

After feeling thoroughly refreshed, Link exited the bath and dried himself off with the towel. He washed his clothes and rung as much water out of them as he could. He let his towel soak up all the moisture in his undergarments before putting them back on, as well as the fresh clothes. He carried the sopping heap of clothes out of the bathing room and down the hall to his room.

Link opened the door and had to just stand there for a moment, staring. His guest suite was gorgeous. It had a bed fit for royalty, large, lush and beautiful, a balcony overlooking town plaza, a dresser and vanity, soft, thick carpet, and a fireplace with a warm blaze already started. He carried his wet clothes out to the balcony and hung them over the edge to dry. He places his boots by the fireplace to dry out, because he had washed those as well. Walking out to the balcony again, he breathed in the cool night air. It was fresh and crisp, and smelled like the forest. The southern breeze smelled familiar, homely. He thought of the plains south of town, of Faron woods, with so many wild flowers. He could picture the path, winding through the trees, the bridge across the gorge. He thought of Ordon village, calm and cozy. He felt at home. At peace. The thought of his warm, soft bed, the smells coming from the town, the crickets chirping in the hills… *thud*

His fantasy was cut short. Alert, Link turned back to the room. Something had definitely made that thud. "Maybe it came from outside the room," he wondered. He could barely see a thing. The fire in the fireplace had died down, giving off very little light. He picked up his lantern from his pouch instead and lit it. Slowly he crept back onto the carpet, making his footsteps slow and light. "Hello?" No answer. He stood in the middle of the room, glancing around, but he saw nothing out of place. Adrenaline pumped around his body. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, but no one was there. He hadn't felt this way since his ancounter in the Arbiter's grounds.

*Creak* "Who's there?" He nearly jumped out of his skin, whipping his head around. Feet! Feet poking out from beneath the curtains! He threw his arm hand behind it and grabbed the intruder by the arm, pulling them out into the open.

"What is your PROBLEM?" He recognized the voice instantly.

"Zelda?" Link raised his lantern, and sure enough, Princess Zelda stood before him, dressed in a plain blue night-gown.

"Why did you attack me!? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Why did I- Why did you sneak into my room and hide from me?" Link couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Well, I thought it would be funny to surprise you," she replied smugly. She moved her long, unbraided hair behind her head with her hands.

"Well surprise, surprise!" Link threw up his arms. He sighed and let his hands fall to his sides again. "Look, I'm sorry I grabbed you. What was it you wanted?"

"I was just coming to say 'goodnight'. And tell you how sorry I am for embarrassing you today."

"Didn't you already apologize?"

"Well, I wanted-" Her voice cut off. She shifted her feet back and forth and looked down at the ground. "I wanted to _show_ you."

"What do you mean?" He could see something in her eyes, some desire. The air in the room changed as she took a step forward. She moved too quickly for his brain to register. Before Link knew what was happening, Zelda's left arm was around his waist and her right hand behind his head.

"Like this," she whispered and pulled them together. She kissed him firmly on the lips, sliding her left arm up his back.

Every part of Link's body stiffed up. He didn't know what to do. Here was Zelda, wrapping herself around him, kissing him square in the lips. He didn't know how to fight it. His brain stopped thinking. He could only feel her warm body against his chest.

He didn't resist.

Link hung his arms around the small of her back and pulled her hips up to his. She took his signal and hung her arms around his neck. They pulled back for a moment, breathing into each other's faces.

"Wow…" was all Link could get out.

"I've barely even gotten started." Zelda grinned. She started kissing him again, only this time she wormed her tongue into his mouth. She moved it around, winding it around his. Link could feel the intensity growing. He started stepping back towards the bed. Zelda gave a brief chuckle and pushed him onto the bed before climbing up next to him.

"Are we going to do this?" Link said, suddenly.

"Why not? I'm a princess, and I want my special evening with my knight in shining armor." She silenced him with another kiss, placing one hand on his cheek, the other on top of his head. She ran her fingers through his hair. He liked that. A lot. He sighed deeply, closed his eyes, and then took in a deep breath through his nose.

He smelled something. Something distant, yet so familiar. It drew him away from the bedroom, away from Zelda. It was hay, the kind in the stables back home. There wasn't any of it around, so how could he smell it? His mind drifted over the rolling plains of Hyrule Field. He saw Ordon Village, sleepy, dark, and perfect. Except for one little light, still illuminating a window on the edge of town.

It was Ilia's window. He could imagine her now, sitting in her room, staring out into the sky. He saw her, wrapped in a blanket made of goat's wool, with her small lamp lit and on her desk. She was crying silently, letting the tears flow down her face. She shuddered and scrunched herself up into a ball, like she always did when she was distraught. Link couldn't stand it. He should be home, by her side, even if he was the reason she felt this way. ESPECIALLY because he was the reason!

His mind flashed back to the bed, to Zelda, to the situation that was already unfolding. He could feel her fingering at his shirt buttons, pulling the fabric away from his chest. No, no! He couldn't do this, not now! He stopped kissing her, removing his arms from her warm body. She stopped kissing him, opened her eyes, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't think we should be doing this." The lust was already gone. There was no turning back now.

"What? Why? Just a second ago you were undoing my dress!"

"I was?" Link didn't know what to say.

"Yes, and all of the sudden you've changed your mind?"

"I need to go home."

"No, no, I won't let you! Please!" She kissed him hard and threw her arms around him.

"No!" Link placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away. He stood up and dashed out to the balcony. He grabbed his clothes, which were still wet, and turned around. "Don't try to stop me."

"Please. Please," she repeated. "I want you so bad."

"I can't. My best friend is back home, alone and hurt, and it's all my fault. I never should have come here. I have to go."

"What's wrong Link?!" She stepped in front of him. He averted her gaze, but she lifted his chin forward. They locked eyes. "You… who… who is she?"

"What?"

"There's another girl. I can see it in your eyes."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He pulled his face away.

"Yes you do! That friend of yours is a girl, isn't she?"

"What does that have to do with anything? Ilia and I are best friends! We always have been!"

"No, it's not just that."

"We're just friends!"

"Then why do you so confused inside? You know something is there but you keep pushing it away. Why?"

"I don't want things to change. I want them to be the way they always were!"

"Look, I'm not trying to give you relationship counseling or anything-"

"Then DON'T! I'm going home!" He took several strides towards the door, wet clothes in hand, until she grabbed his arm. "Let go of me!"

"Wait, please. I won't stop you this time. Just hear me out."

Link sighed and motioned for her to continue.

"I know that want things to stay the same, but if you get caught up in the past, you'll never be able to keep up with her. Don't let her slip away."

"Alright, fine." He turned to leave.

"Hey Link? No hard feelings, right?"

He turned towards Zelda again. Had her arms stretched out towards him. They embraced and sighed. "Yeah, of course."

"You know, if things don't work out…" she began.

"Don't even think about it. Goodbye Zelda."

"See you later…"

How odd, he thought. Those were the last words Midna had said to him before they parted. He just hoped they weren't Zelda's as well. He contemplated the night's events as he exited the castle and walked across the courtyard. It was time to go home.

**. . .**

Ilia had been in her window. She had been crying, just as Link saw her. But she was no longer by the window, or even in her room. She was carefully sneaking around her house, gathering things in her father's satchel.

Ilia was never one to take disappointment standing down. Not since her mother had passed away. Whenever she was face with a problem, even if it wasn't her own, she took it into her own hands to solve it. She'd even helped tend to the sick Zora prince that ended up in Telma's bar. She watched him day and night, doing whatever she could to bring his fever down. She hated being helpless.

So she went on packing. She grabbed some fruit, a loaf of bread, a canteen of water, bandages, soap, and then went into her father's practice room. There were a lot of weapons mounted on the walls, but most of them were just for display. Instead she went to a cupboard and took out her short sword. When she was little, Bo had insisted she learn how to wield a blade, much to her mother's protests. She hoped she wouldn't need it, but she didn't know what was out there. Until she was kidnapped, Ilia had never gone further than Faron Woods. After that, her experiences in Hyrule field had been less than pleasant, to say the least.

She left the satchel at the bottom of the stairs and crept back up to her room. She changed out of her night clothes and into her riding gear. She put on a pair of loose leather pants, long socks, a white shirt over her undergarments, and a tightly fitted brown vest. She went to her desk and picked up her carving knife, and then she saw the unfinished wooden horse she'd been working on.

"Link, I know you wouldn't go unless you had to. But this time, I'm not going to let you go alone," she thought to herself. Ilia grabbed the horse too. Before leaving her room, she also grabbed her favorite white dress and leggings, just in case she needed another set of clothes. She went back downstairs and packed all her things into the satchel, strapped the sword to her side, and walked towards the door. She paused, turned back for a moment, and whispered, "I'm sorry Dad," before walking into the cool night air.

**As a side note, that scene (yeah, you know which one) is the closest this is ever going to get to a mature setting. It was interesting to write, and I hope I didn't screw anything up too bad. Keep posted for the next chapter, and please, PLEASE, write a review for me! I want your comments! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5, Memories

**This last one took a while to make. Part of it was starting college, which is surprisingly… time-consuming. Also, it was a little more difficult to write because of where I want the story to go, so some parts may seem a little slow or dry. This is because I'm trying to get it from one point to another, but it isn't always an easy transition. Please bear with me through this one, and I promise the next chapter will pick up a little more! Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Memories

"What do mean it's closed for the night?!"

"I'm sorry sir, I've been ordered to keep the gate closed until sunrise."

"I can't believe this. Do you know who I am?"

"Yes sir, but I've been ordered by Princess Zelda to keep all citizens in Castle Town until sunrise. If you need to get out, please go speak with her directly."

"Look, I just came from there. If you go speak to her, she'll vouch for me. Please! I need to leave!"

"I am not allowed to lea-"

Link grabbed the guard the collar and brought his face up to his own. He stared into the quaking face a sternly said, "Let. Me. Through."

"Look sir, I don't even have the key."

"Augh!" Link threw the guard against the wooden gate and stormed away. He skulked to the plaza and sat down by the plaza, feeling utterly defeated. Helpless. Tired. He needed to sleep. It must have been at least 3 or 4 in the morning. During his adventures, he'd go for days without sleeping sometimes, but the events of the day had sapped all his energy away. Just then, he remembered about his conversation with Shad, and got up to find his house. "Where did he say it was?" Link thought out loud. "The doctor's office, right." He began walking, and in just a minute he was there.

Shad's house was very plain from the outside, nothing fancy. He'd have figured as much. Link knocked on the door and waited, but there was no answer. The window was open, so he poked his head in and looked around. He didn't see any light from inside the house. "Hello? Shad?" He climbed through the window and looked around for a candle or a lamp. He didn't find one, so he took out his own. The lantern illuminated shelves upon shelves of books and journals, which also didn't surprise him. He walked around on the creaky wood floor and exited the room, which he assumed was the study. The next room he found was the living room, which also had stacks of books lying around. Across the way was a bed, unmade and surrounded by even more books. "What else does this guy do?" Link thought. He called out once more, and with no answer, stripped off his shirt and threw himself onto the bed. It was comfy, but he still wished he could have had the suite in the castle. He took off his boots and socks, set down his bag filled with his still-damp signature apparel, and turned over onto his back. He closed his eyes and thought of home, waiting for sleep to come.

Minutes passed, but sleep didn't come. Link repositioned himself several times, tossing and turning, but couldn't turn off his racing mind. He could barely keep his eyes open, yet he couldn't sleep. He searched through his thoughts, hoping to find the one that was keeping him awake. Of course, he thought of Ilia at home, alone. What he had done to her.

And once again, he wanted to go home, to be by her side, like he'd always been. He began to think of the things they had been through together. Out of all of them, one stood out as the most clear, the most significant. He remembered when Ilia's mother passed away.

**. . .**

Her name was Gloria. She was beautiful, graceful, and tall, by comparison to the other women of the village. Her presence seemed to bring a special aura about the room. It was no wonder that Bo had chosen this woman to be his wife. However, she had not been part of the village when they'd first met. Gloria was the daughter of a traveling merchant who happened to be passing through the southern part of Hyrule during one of the coldest winters in nearly a century. The entire northern half was covered in a dense frost, although there was little snow. Ordon village was warmer than most of Hyrule, however, and the merchant decided to stay there until the worst of the season had passed. During that time, Bo because infatuated with Gloria, and sought after her. Although she enjoyed his company, the merchant did not approve of her behavior. He tried to dissuade her, but she insisted on staying. She was beyond her childhood years, and had always been of an independent nature. The merchant, though disappointed that her daughter had chosen a man from a farming town rather than a richer family, he accepted their love and allowed them to wed.

As time passed, Bo became the mayor of Ordon, inheriting the title from his late father. Shortly thereafter, Gloria became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy girl. They named her Ilia, and they loved her dearly. Despite her sheltered and privileged life, Gloria turned out to be an excellent mother; caring, loving, nurturing, and very compassionate. She was skilled with her hands, able to make coarse goat wool into soft, almost silky fabrics. She wove beautiful dresses and outfits for her beloved baby, and tried to bring her up with as much dignity and grace permitting in such a small rural town. Bo, however, wanted to make sure her daughter was equipped to be independent and strong; useful to the village. He taught her to ride horses, herd the goats, milk them, grow crops, and much to the dislike of her mother, sword fight. Rusl helped with that part of it too. Link and Ilia were taught to fight together, as well as hunt with a bow. From time spent with both her mother and her father, Ilia almost grew up as two people at once. She felt torn between them, as they were often so at odds with each other, each trying to shape her into their own likeness. She liked to get away from them as often as she could, preferring to spend time with Link.

One particularly wet spring, when Ilia was about 11 years old, the in the village pond flooded and started rising up to the level of the houses. With the warm weather and damp soil, hay fever became much worse than usual. Many of the town's people got sick, and Gloria insisted on caring for them. Bo begged her to come home and rest, but she said that since all of the other women in the town were bed-ridden, it was her duty to tend to the ill. Soon, the inevitable happened. Gloria became very sick as well.

As the days dragged on, her conditioned worsened. Still, with a fever threatening to kill her, she continued to care for the sick. As they got better, she got worse. After a few more days, the water receded and the fever began to pass, all except for Gloria's. The town feared she wouldn't survive, but they didn't want to scare Ilia. Bo told Ilia to fetch special berries from the forest, and Ilia asked Link to go with her. Once they were out of the village, Ilia confided in Link.

"I know they're lying," she whispered.

"I'm sorry." Link replied meekly.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just… I don't know what else to say."

"Then why say anything?" Ilia asked as they reached the Ordon spring.

"I… I want you to know that I want to help. You know, that I'm here for you."

"Don't be silly Link, that's why I brought you along."

Together, the two of them sat by the spring all day, waiting for the sun to disappear once again behind the hills. They talked, cried, laughed, and sat in silence together. When Ilia was ready to go back, they went home to see how her mother was doing. She was awake when they returned, which was a good sign, Bo said. Gloria called Ilia to the side of the bed, and when she kneeled beside her, tears in their eyes, Gloria kissed her on her forehead.

"I love you my dear, but all things must pass away sometime."

"Mother, please don't go," Ilia begged.

"I will always be with you, Child. Don't worry," she whispered as she wiped away Ilia's tears. "Just remember to look inwards, towards your heart, and look upwards, towards the heavens. I will never be far."

"Mother?"

"Yes, Ilia?"

"Will you sing for me?"

"Of course, Dear." Gloria let the words flow, carrying the same melody she always had, since Ilia was no more than a baby. Link stood at the edge of the room with Mayor Bo at his side. He felt sick, like he'd swallowed a bag of rocks, and one of them had gotten stuck in his throat. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall, trying to remain strong, so he kept wiping them away. He sniffed his nose, and he felt a strong hand grasp his shoulder, turning him. Mayor Bo was staring him straight in the face, his eyes red and his face glistening.

"Don't hold them back, Boy," he said. "A true man is never afraid to let his emotions flow, and grief must be released. Go, be with her."

Link reached the bed just as Gloria had finished her song. She smiled and took his hand in hers. At that moment, he lost control, and he let the tears stream down his face freely. Ilia got up and stood beside him as Bo came up behind them, putting a hand on their outside shoulders. Gloria took her hands away from Link and placed them in Ilia's trembling fingers.

"Ilia, my child, don't be afraid," Gloria said. "Be strong, just as your father and I have taught you. Don't ever give up hope, and never give up on the people you love."

"I will Mother. I-I will…" she stammered. She took in a deep breath and stood up straight. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dearest, now and forever," she turned to her husband, whose squinted eyes were filled with glistening droplets. "Take good care of her Bo," was all she said. Bo opened his mouth to speak, but the sound was caught in his throat. Instead, he vigorously nodded his head. Link was surprised at what happened next, as Gloria turned her gaze back to him. He froze, unable to speak.

"Link, that goes for you too. Take care of my daughter, never leave her side. I want you to promise me."

Link managed to squeak out, "I… I promise."

Gloria sighed, closing her eyes. "Then I am complete." She sank down into the sheets, letting her body go limp. Immediately, Bo rushed forward to catch her from falling out of the bed, and he placed her on her back. Gloria opened her mouth, as if she was going to speak, but no words came. Instead, she slowly let out her breath, her chest falling as well. The sound hung in the air, like a poison, an end, and a work of art, all at once. A perfect finale to a song of life.

**. . .**

Link had managed to fall asleep, although he wasn't sure for how long. The room looked unchanged, so he guessed Shad still hadn't come back. Link packed up his things and got dressed. He didn't have a need for his extra clothes anymore, so he left them by the bed. Although the guard by the gate had told him that he couldn't be let out until sunrise, Link figured he'd get ready ahead of time. He still needed to get the rest of his gear, as well as Epona, back from Ralin. He left Shad's house and asked the nearest guard where Ralin might be.

"Probably back in the guard barracks," he responded. "You'll find it next to the stables on the other side of town."

Link strolled through the plaza, which wasn't so crowded anymore. It seemed most people had gone home, but a few could still be seen lying down or lounging about. Link found the barracks fairly easily and went inside. A guard was slouched in a chair, snoring. When Link shut the door behind him, he snorted and woke up, disoriented.

"Mmm, what? What are you doing here?" the man asked Link.

"I was just looking for Ralin. Is he around?"

"Actually, he came in not that long ago. He'll be in the room over there." The guard pointed to a closed door on the other side of the room. "Now if you have any other questions, please hesitate to ask. I'm going back to sleep." Within a few moments, he was snoring again.

Link walked over to the door and knocked. Ralin's voice answered with a simple "Come in!" He opened the door and found Ralin searching through some boxes. Ralin looked and smiled. "Oh, nice to see you again! Need something?"

"Yes, I'd like to get my things and get my horse, Epona. I'd like to leave soon. Also, could you arrange for the guards to open one of the gates? They wouldn't let me out earlier."

"Certainly, most certainly! I would have expected them to let you out without question! I'll send the message out right away, but first let's get your gear back. I've placed it in the armory."

The two of them walked through a series of hallways until they came to a sturdy metal door. Ralin unlocked it and waved Link inside.

"So this is the armory?" Link said. "It seems more… elaborate than I would have imagined." The walls were lined with decorated suits of armor and weapons. One wall had a series of metal cabinets, secured with sturdy padlocks.

"Since there haven't really been any wars for several hundred years, the annual funds for the royal army have had a surplus," Ralin explained as he strolled around the room. "Once the stored money reached a certain point, the royal family started commissioning custom suits of armor and weapons to be used in special ceremonies. When Princess Zelda inherited the throne from her father, she didn't care what the money was spent on. Instead, she let me use it!"

Link glanced around, "So, what _do_ you spend it on?"

"Instead of ceremonial weapons, I prefer to commission superiorly crafted swords." Ralin opened one of the first lockers, revealing a store of the finest blades Link had ever laid eyes on.

Link gaped at the display of expert craftsmanship. "May I?" he asked, motioning to a broadsword that looked particularly appealing.

"By all means, please do!"

Link unlatched the blade from its shelf and balanced it in his hands, testing its weight. He ever so lightly pressed his finger against its edge, and it started to draw blood. "Wow, it's incredibly sharp." He gave it a few swings, twirling it in his hand. It was swift, but carried enough weight with it to stagger all but the largest of opponents. "What I would give for a sword like this…"

"You won't have to give anything. If you like it, it's yours." Ralin grinned from ear to ear. "Consider it my gift for saving Hyrule, since last night turned into a flop."

"Really, I can't accept this."

"Nonsense! I have many other swords, not like they ever get used anyway. It should suit you fine, now that you don't have a sword anymore. By the way, what did happen to your old sword?"

"It's a long story, but basically I had to give it back to its owner. Thank you, once again."

"Of course. I'll fetch its sheath, along with the rest of your things." Ralin opened several of the other lockers, producing the sheath, his bow and quiver, shield, and claw shots. Link strapped the sword and shield to his back and stored his other equipment before following Ralin out to the stables. Epona was happy to see him, giving a soft whiney as the stable keeper brought her out onto the street. Link stroked her mane before climbing onto her back. He allowed her to trot through the streets towards the southern gate. The towns-folk in the market place waved goodbye to their hero as the two of them flew down the stone staircase. It must've been early morning, as the eastern horizon was starting to turn a bright yellow. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and Link's spirits rose like the wind over the grassy fields. He'd be back home in no time.

**. . .**

Ilia stood at the edge of Faron woods, staring onto Hyrule Field. The first light of dawn was seeping out onto the rolling hills. It was larger than she remembered, and she didn't even know where to start. "Well, I guess I'd better just go. Maybe it'll come back to me," she thought to herself. She around and walked towards a black horse, tethered to a nearby tree. It was Telma's horse, the one she used to draw her carriage. When Ilia had first left the village, she'd felt bad about stealing from Telma, but she reassured herself that it would be fine as long as she brought back her horse safely. She hoisted herself into the saddle and spurred the horse forward.

Ilia followed the trail leading north, figuring it had to lead somewhere. Unfortunately, she didn't exactly know where Link was. She knew he had to be in one of the villages or towns, so she decided to try Kakariko Village first. After crossing the bridge over the small pond, she turned east, towards the gorge that spanned the gap between Farore province and Eldin province. Ilia approached the ridge on the south side of the gorge, remembering the route she and the children had taken with Telma after the twilight crisis was over. As well as those memories flashed the night where Link escorted the wagon through the hordes of Bublins. She could still imagine the deafening explosions rocking the wooden cart, the flaming arrows whizzing through the canopy. She shuddered at the thought of it.

Suddenly, her nightmare reawakened. A burning shaft flew inches from her face and buried itself into the ground. Telma's horse spooked and galloped for the bridge. Ilia tightened her grip on the reins while looking around wildly for her attacker. At the top of the hill stood an all too familiar green monster, a Bublin, with another flaming arrow already notched. Ilia's adrenaline kicked in, and she spurred the black steed across the gorge. She didn't have Link to protect her this time, but she was determined to escape. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that the Bublin had been joined by several companions, who were mounted on the hideous wild boars they used to attack her village. They had already begun their pursuit.

Ilia whipped her head forward, where two more Bublins stood in-between her and Kakariko village. "I thought they had all left!" was all she could think of as she turned back towards the bridge. The mounted boars were already across. The two groups were getting closer, shutting off her escape routes. Ilia yanked Telma's horse towards the path leading to northern Hyrule. Until she found a way into a safe village, her only option was to run. She just hoped she'd be able to last long enough.

**In case you didn't catch it, that's my attempt at a cliff hanger. Please review, give some feedback, and favorite! Keep checking in for the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6, Reunion

**Hey all, it's been a while! Rather than go into the full detail of why it took 4 months to get this chapter up, I'll simply say that I got distracted, busy, and discouraged. Also, IT'S OVER 9000!... words long. So… yeah. I'm going to try to be more diligent about writing these, and I'm sorry it took so long. I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 6: Reunion

Link passed through Faron Woods as he had so often these past few days. He hoped it would be the last time, that he'd find Ilia, apologize, and everything would be fine. "But, then again, when have things ever worked out that nicely?" he thought to himself. It was about midmorning when he and Epona entered Ordon village. The only person outside was Rusl, who was fishing in the town's pond. He heard the "clip-clop" of Epona's hooves and turned his head around, smiling.

"Link! You're back! How were things at Castle Town?" Rusl asked.

"Eh, well… could have gone better." Link didn't know where to start, so he dismissed the topic. "I need to talk to Ilia, so if you'll excuse me-"

"Oh, sure, certainly. Don't let me keep you. I'll just uh… return to my fishing."

Link was a little perplexed at Rusl's awkward response, but he didn't dwell on it. He went straight for Ilia's house and knocked on the door. There was a pause, and he heard Bo shouting from inside.

"Ilia! Can you get the door?!" There was another pause. "Ilia?" Link heard Bo grumble something about teenagers, hop off his creaky bed and walk to the door. He opened it, yawned, opened his eyes (which isn't saying much, considering how much he usually squinted), and said, "Link! Why so early? Sorry about that, Ilia must still be sleeping. You're probably here for her, right?"

"Yes Sir," Link nodded.

"Ilia! Link's here!" Again, no response. "Humph. I'll go get her up."

Link was left one in the doorway. He stepped back onto the porch so it wouldn't be so awkward when she came down. After all, he'd want the conversation to be more… private. There was a lot to explain, and he didn't want to have Bo sitting through all of it. Moments later, hurried down the stairs. Alone.

"She's gone!" he exclaimed.

"Gone? Where could she be?" Link asked.

"I have no clue! She came in last night, didn't say much, and went upstairs. I never saw her or heard anything from her after that! Wait…" he paused, putting his hand on his chin. "Link." Bo looked straight at him. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "What happened last night? Ilia came in sobbing. Something happened after dinner."

"It's… complicated," Link said meekly, averting Bo's gaze.

"Link, tell me what happened."

"We… well we… got into an argument you see, and she got frustrated, and-"

Bo sighed. "Look, if it's not my business, just say so. You really are an awful liar." He smiled. "Always have been. But right now, we have to find out what happened. You check her room for anything that might give us some clue as to where she is. I'll check the rest of the house."

Link nodded and bounded upstairs. Her carving desk was bare and her satchel was missing. He looked around further for a note of some kind, but didn't find anything. He went back downstairs to look for Bo. He was in his training room, rustling through one of the cabinets. "What are you looking for?"

"Ilia's sword. It isn't in here! Did you find anything?"

"It's what I _didn't_ find. Her satchel is gone. She had to have meant to leave. Perhaps she took her sword too."

"What was she planning on doing, fighting a war? Why would she need her sword?" Bo was becoming more anxious.

"No, but she might have been preparing for danger. Which means…" Link paused and thought "It means she went out of Faron Woods. Probably to look for me!" to himself. "I have to go!"

"What, where?" Bo said.

"To find Ilia! She may have gone to Hyrule Field!" Link rushed for the door.

"Hyrule Field? Link, what is going on?"

"I'm sorry Sir, but there's just too much to explain. I'll bring her home, don't worry!" Before Bo could stop him, he was out the door. He got on Epona and rode out of town. Just as he was passing his house, Telma walked out from behind her carriage and flagged him down. He hopped off Epona and walked over. "What is it?"

"Someone stole my horse!" she exclaimed.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Hon, the rope I used to tether her to that tree over there is lying on the ground."

"Maybe it just… slipped out?"

"Horses don't untie knots. You and Ilia were out later than the rest of us. Did you see anything suspicious? Any strangers come into town last night?"

"No, but I think I may know who took your horse…"

**. . .**

Ilia was completely exhausted, and Telma's horse was in no fine shape either. She didn't know how long she'd been running away from her attackers. Every route she tried to take was cut off by more Bublins. She'd already crossed the river on the northern plane of Hyrule field, and she was now headed to the western side. There seemed to be coordinated bands of them everywhere, and when the group behind her grew tired, another quickly took its place. She'd been lucky enough to evade an attacks that they tried, getting enough distance from them to avoid their arrows, but she couldn't hold that lead forever. And eventually, one of their shots would hit its target. She didn't want to think about what would happen after that. All she could think about was making sure the path in front of her was clear.

"Link, if I ever needed you, it's now!"

**. . .**

Link entered Hyrule field once again, only this time, he didn't know where to go. Luckily, he didn't need to make that decision just yet. All he had to do was head north to the crossroads. Maybe he'd get a clue as to where Ilia went along the way.

Just as he crossed the bridge over the small brook, Link heard the sound of a Bublin horn. He saw a group of six of the green creatures, mounted on their boars, charging from the east. Just then, another horn came from the north, in response to the first one. An even larger horde of them came charging down the hillside from the path to Castle Town. He was cut off, and he couldn't lead them back to Ordon. Link had no choice to head west, towards the Great Bridge of Hyrule. He grabbed his sword off of his back and prepared to slice any that got too close.

He'd fought on horseback many times, but that had been with the Master Sword. Wielding this new blade was a little uncomfortable. Luckily, it cut right through them all the same. He had dispatched at least four of them by the time he'd reached the cliffs. The group suddenly pulled back, but stayed together about 30 feet behind him. He was just about to spur Epona into a full gallop to gain some more ground when he felt a hard thud against his back and heard a loud *clang*. An arrow had bounced off his shield. Bublin archers were positioned on the hill, and they were opening fire. Link grasped Epona's reins with both hands and steered her in a serpentine movement to evade the barrage of flaming projectiles. He rode through the passage with the rock overhangs and onto the Bridge of Hyrule. Once he was halfway across the bridge, he stopped, pulled out his bow and strung an arrow. One by one the Bublins fell, each knocked clear off their mounts. The boars, once their riders had been killed, simply turned around and run back to the cliffs.

Link breathed a sigh of relief and put away his bow. He was just about to head back when he happened to look over his shoulder to the other end of the bridge. A black horse was galloping onto the bridge, and its rider was slumped over, head down. He rode towards it, and as he did, he began to see the rider more clearly. It was a girl, with blond hair of medium length, a leather vest, and… "Oh no. ILIA!" Link shouted. Her horse was panting uncontrollably, its mouth white with foamy saliva. Link jumped off Epona and held his hands high above his head in front of the black steed. It gratefully slowed, uncaring if this stranger was friend or foe. Link ran up and shakily took Ilia out of the saddle. She moaned weakly. He held her in his arms for a moment, then gently laid her on the stone.

"Ilia, Ilia! Come on, wake up."

"Uung… huh? Link?" Ilia slowly opened her eyes, and then she smiled. "Link! I knew you would come!" She threw her arms around his neck and pressed herself against his chest. "I just knew it."

Link, startled by her sudden embrace, cleared his throat and said, "I, uh… I'm sorry I, uh, hurt you… last night."

"Why did you leave?"

"It's a long story. Can you stand?"

"I think so." She let go of Link and pulled herself onto her feet.

"Good, then it's time to get you home."

"But wait, where are the other Bublins? The ones that were chasing me?" She looked around frantically, and suddenly pointed to the side of the bridge she came from. "There, look!" Link followed her finger.

Sure enough, a horde of Bublins were poised at the end of the bridge. Link counted at least 20, and he could see more coming. "What are they waiting for?" he asked.

"For the others to get ready. There's more on the other side, too."

Another group was already forming on the southern side. "Where do they keep coming from? And why are they suddenly attacking? I thought their king stopped their fighting!" Link said anxiously.

"Link, what are we going to do?"

"I... I don't know." He began to pace, thinking. They were trapped, both ways, by a considerable force. It was only a matter of time before they attacked. He had his sword and shield, as well as his bow, and Ilia had her short sword at her side, but he couldn't risk putting her into a battle. He couldn't fight one side at a time and leave Ilia behind, because then she'd just be venerable to the other side's attack. And even if he could protect her, there were so many of them!

"Well, you'd better figure something out!" Ilia shouted. "They're starting to move!"

He was out of time! "Ilia, quickly, grab anything you have out of the saddle!"

She went back to the horse and grabbed her satchel. "What now?" she asked.

"Come over to the edge with me." She hesitated. "Now! We don't have time!" Ilia ran up to Link's side, trembling. "Now, you're going to hold onto me. We're going to jump down into Lake Hylia."

"Are you crazy?! Look at how far that is!"

"You can do this, Ilia!"

"But Link-"

"Trust me!" She paused and looked him in the eyes. "Trust me." He repeated, softer this time. She nodded and put her hands on his shoulders. "Now, when we hit the water, point your toes and try to land as straight down as possible. Once we've stopped moving, let go of me and swim up to the surface."

"Wait!"

"No time! Jump!" He hoisted her up and threw them both over the side. Ilia screamed and pulled herself against his chest.

"Link!" she shouted over the wind.

"What?!" he responded.

"I can't swim!"

Link felt like a rock dropped in his stomach. "Breath deep!" he shouted. They hit the water and began to plunge down, deep into the lake. So deep that it became dark and hard to see. He saw Ilia trying to swim up, but she couldn't make any progress. She flailed her arms towards him, grasping at his leg. He took her hand and began to pull them up, but it was too hard for him to carry them both. It felt like he had his iron boots on again. The surface was too far away, and they were barely rising. He could feel his lungs burning, begging for air. His conscious began to fade, the light slowly draining away. "No!" His mind was screaming, and he fought with all of his strength, but it wasn't enough. "Not like this! Ilia!" He couldn't move his arms anymore, and he felt his grasp on Ilia weaken. The world faded to black, and he released his expended breath.

**. . .**

All he could feel was a burning pain. It started in his chest and rose up to his neck and out to his arms. Link felt like he was being ripped limb from limb. When the pain reached his head, it exploded into a mind-numbing fury. His forehead burned with an unnatural intensity. He screamed and opened his eyes. Zant stood before him with his strange Twili face and dark robes. He was cackling with his hand extended towards him, emanating a pulsing magic glow. The magic crystal that Zant had used to trap Link in his wolf form was burrowing into Link's brow, burning his skull. Link glanced down at his hands, which were no longer hands. They were the grey furry paws of his wolf form.

Zant shouted in his shrill voice, "Foolish boy! You may have defeated me, but you'll always be under my curse!" He laughed and threw his arm to the side, flinging Link onto his back. His lungs felt like they were seizing, and everything suddenly went white.

Link woke up coughing and spiting up water. He was lying on his side, sopping wet. Everything in his body ached, and he felt miserable, but he was alive! He faintly heard voices, but everything was muffled and indistinguishable. As his vision became less blurry, the first thing he noticed was a pair of blue feet. He glanced upwards, dazed and confused, and he met the eyes of a Zora warrior, who was currently steadying him by placing a hand on Link's shoulder. He could see his mouth moving, but he couldn't tell what he was saying. All of the sudden he felt sick, and he started heaving up water.

Finally, Link was able to understand what the Zora was saying, "Apparently he's NOT feeling OK yet."

The Zora was speaking to someone behind Link, who replied, "Give him some space. At least he's conscious." Link rolled over onto his back and looked at the source of the other voice. It was another Zora warrior, standing with spear in hand. Link took a first look at his surroundings. He was under the rocky overhang above the entrance to the Lanayru Spring.

"How do you feel?" asked the first Zora.

"Soggy, achy, and gross." Link began to sit up, but stopped when his stomach started cramping. He let out a small grunt and started lowering himself back down and placed his hand on his abdomen.

"Don't push yourself too hard now; you're in no condition to exert yourself," said the second Zora. "You're lucky you're still alive. What were you thinking, jumping off of that bridge? And taking that poor girl with you…"

"Ilia!" Link said to himself. He'd forgotten to check and see if she was OK! "Where is she?! Is she alright?" he asked frantically. He didn't see her anywhere.

"She fine, much better than you're doing, to be sure," answered the first Zora. "She's inside the spring, resting."

"Can you take me to her?" asked Link.

The two Zoras looked at each other for a moment, nodded, and went to Link's sides. The lifted him up by his arms and placed them over their shoulders. He took small steps as they supported him, half lifting, half dragging him to the cave. Once inside, Link saw Ilia wrapped in a blanket, eyes closed, leaning against one of the rocky walls. The Zoras slowly set Link down next to her. Link noticed her breathing was shallow, and her body was shivering.

"Why is she shaking like that? Is she cold?" Link asked.

"No, she's in shock. The fall must have been very traumatic for her. She'll be fine. She just needs some time to rest." While that may have been true, Link knew that the fall wasn't the only traumatic experience she'd had of late.

Just then Ilia opened her eyes and turned her head to face them. She looked at Link and smiled. "You're OK. I was so worried when you didn't wake up." Her voice was quiet, almost weak. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

"Ilia?" Link began.

"Best let her be," said one of the Zoras. "In fact, you should rest as well. We'll bring you a blanket too."

"Where did you ge-e-eeeCHOO!" Link's sneeze racked his whole body. "Ugh," he moaned and sniffed his nose.

"We need to get him out of those wet clothes. He's already catching a cold."

They helped him undress and brought him a blanket to warm himself with. He laid down on the dirt beside Ilia and addressed the Zoras again. "Where did you get the blankets?"

"The old man who runs the cannon tower down the way," one of the Zoras responded, and then turned to his companion. "What's the old coot's name again? Flyer?"

"Fyer." The second Zora corrected. "Yes, he saw you fall down and rushed to the mouth of the cave, where we ended up bringing the two of you. Speaking of which, why in Lanayru's wisdom did you jump off the bridge?"

Link looked down at the spring, which was giving off its usual luminous glow. He took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking, softly, "The Bublins have come back. They seem to have forces spread all over. They haven't attacked any cities, from what I can tell, but they attacked both Ilia and myself, and blocked us off on both sides. I couldn't endanger Ilia in the fight, so we jumped."

"That's… incredible. A series of synchronized attacks, all across Hyrule, is likely what they're planning. I thought with the defeat of Zant and his minions that this war would be over."

"I don't understand why they're still fighting!" Link said, furrowing his brow. "They're leader, King Bublin, said he was done fighting when I defeated him in Hyrule Castle. He told me that he'd always served the stronger side, so I thought that meant he'd finally made peace."

"Whatever is going on, we need to make sure that everyone is safe. I will travel up the river and warn those in our domain that it Hyrule Field isn't safe anymore," the second Zora said. "Link, when you feel ready, you need to warn those in Castle Town of the danger. Mikalu, watch after them."

"Yes sir," the first Zora, Mikalu, nodded. The second Zora disappeared. Moments later, there was a splash from outside the cave.

Link looked at Mikalu. "So, is he your boss?"

"I guess you can say that. He's the senior officer on duty right now, down here in the 'Lake Unit' as we call it. So, is there anything you need?"

"I think just some peace and quiet. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll be outside the cave if you think of anything else." Mikalu exited the cave.

Link had so much on his mind. The Bublin attacks, drowning, and that strange vision he had while he was unconscious… What did it mean? He'd always be under Zant's curse? What if Zant was back? No, impossible. Midna destroyed him. Then what could it mean? Link shook his head to clear his mind. He stared off towards the spring, where the water glistened and reflected the water in a cool, eerie light. The water was so beautiful, it seemed like it was alive. The mesmerizing glow put him to sleep.

**. . .**

Link began to dream again, peacefully. He started soaring above Hyrule, flying across the desert, towards the Arbiter's Grounds. When he touched down, he noticed something different; the mirror was fixed! Link ran up the stairs to the top of the platform and gently placed his hand on the cold surface of the mirror. He knew he was dreaming, but it all felt so real. He wondered why is dream had taken him here.

"So that I could talk to you," said a familiar voice, coming from behind him.

"Midna!" Link turned around, and saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs. He ran down to her and stopped in front of her, half surprised. He wasn't use to her being so… tall.

Midna smiled and put her hand against his cheek. "I'm sorry I left so quickly here. It wasn't fair to you or Zelda, breaking the mirror like that, and not explaining why."

"How… how am I talking to you? Is this… are you… real?" Link didn't know how to react.

"Well, yes and no. It's me you're seeing, and not just a dream, but it's still not reality. The mirror is still broken, and I'm still in the Twilight Realm. But I can communicate with you briefly through visions."

"How?"

"It's a complicated process, but I can use my Twilit magic to place myself in your dreams. Your body is in a place heavily connected with the spiritual realm, so I can communicate freely with you."

"So, why _did_ you break the mirror?"

"I feared someone from my realm may use it to travel to yours. My people still bear a great deal of hatred towards the Royal Family of Hyrule for imprisoning our kind. I didn't want to tell you at the time because I worried you would stop me. You wouldn't be afraid of any Twili. But I wanted the war to end."

"Midna, I wouldn't have-"

"Look Link, what's done is done. I'm sorry, but we have to live with this now." Midna turned her back to him and faced the desert, head bowed.

"It's ok Midna." Link placed a hand on her shoulder. "I forgive you. I understand why you did it now."

Midna touched Link's hand with her opposite hand, held it, and turned around to face him again, although she did not lift her head up and look him in the eyes. There was a long silence. Finally Midna spoke, "I can't keep this vision up for very long."

"Yes, well, what did you need to tell me?"

"I need to warn you about a danger coming to Hyrule. The war isn't over, as I'm sure you've figured out by now. Something, some_one_, is controlling them."

"Do you think it's King Bublin?"

"Somehow I doubt that he'd be behind it, unless there is a new player on the field, someone whom he thinks can take you down." Midna's face bore a solemn expression.

"But who would that be?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. But you need to warn Princess Zelda as soon as possible."

"Right, and then I'll make sure that Kakariko village and the Zoras are prepared as well."

"I knew you'd be up to the challenge," Midna gave a faint smile, but it quickly faded.

"There's something else bothering you, what is it?" Link was uneasy about her sudden change in mood.

"Well, it's just that we have to leave now. And… I wish things could have been different."

"Different how?"

"That I didn't have to leave, that I hadn't broken the mirror, that we could have stayed together!"

"Just because we're apart doesn't mean we aren't still friends, Midna."

"But _more_ than that, I-"

Link chuckled to himself, cutting her off. "Midna, you've changed so much since we first met."

"Huh?"

"When you rescued me from that cage, all you wanted to do was use me for your revenge against Zant." Midna turned away in shame. "But now you're compassionate, selfless, a strong leader for your people." She blushed. "I couldn't have asked for a greater companion for that journey. Then seeing you go… it was hard, but I knew that your destiny lies someplace else."

"Our destinies were intertwined by fate, and I believe they still will be, for some time." Midna sighed. "But we have our own ways to go for now." She paused. "I'm happy for you Link. You've been able to move on much quicker than I am able to."

Link was confused. "Move on?"

"I mean getting back into your regular life, back to the way it was, or at least trying to."

"I'd hardly call it 'regular'," Link said, placing his hand on his opposite arm, looking down at the ground and kicking up some dirt. So much had happened over the past few days.

Midna could sense his uneasiness. "Look, Link, it's going to be difficult getting readjusted to things after all that's happened, and things will probably never truly be the same, but you know, change isn't always a bad thing."

"I'm just worried… is all. What if I'm not ready for the change?"

"_You've_ changed Link. Look at how strong and courageous you've become since you first set out to find your friends. If that choice had been placed in front of you then, would you have taken it?"

"I don't know. I suppose I wouldn't if I could have avoided it."

"And are you happy you went on this adventure now?"

Link could see what she was getting at. "Yeah, I am glad. Maybe… maybe change _isn't _so bad."

"See? You've just got to face this new challenge like any other."

"I suppose. I just sometimes wish all my problems could be fixed with swinging my sword around. I seem to be pretty good at that." They both laughed.

There was a distant rumble, and the walls of the arbiter's began to vibrate and shake. The sky turned a pale shade of orange, and black twilight particles began rising from the ground.

Over the loud cracking and crumbling around them, Link shouted, "Midna! What's going on?"

"I don't know! The vision isn't supposed to deteriorate like this! Someone must be interfering with the spell!" Midna was as surprised as Link.

"What do we do?" Link struggled to maintain balance on the uneven ground.

"Nothing, I can't do anything to stop them. Whosever interfering, their magical abilities must be greater than mine to breach the wards I put up."

Link was speechless. How was this happening? The sky suddenly broke open like a chasm, revealing an empty blackness. The walls crumbled to the ground, only they passed through it, falling into the abyss.

"Just get to Zelda! I'll be fine!" Midna was starting to fade. "I promise, we'll meet again soon!"

Finally, the floor underneath Link fell through, and he plummeted down into the dark. He heard Midna give a scream and tried to call out, but he couldn't hear his own voice.

**. . .**

Link shot out of the blankets gasping for breath. He had sweat dripping down his brow, he felt hot, and he was disoriented. It took a moment for him to remember that he was still in the Lanayru Spring. Ilia was at his side, dipping a cloth in a bucket of water.

"Sit down! You're going to get your fever back up!" she scolded.

"Fever?"

"You've been out cold for hours. You were laying there, sweating up a storm, and then you started mumbling something, and then you screamed and flew up! You nearly scared me half to death!"

"I'm sorry for the scare, it was just a nightmare." Link sat back down on top of the blankets.

"Poor thing," she said, sympathetically. "At least your temperature seems to be going down. Here, hold still for a moment." Link obeyed and Ilia placed the cloth on his forehead.

The cool water felt wonderfully relaxing, and his heart rate slowed. He let out a sigh. "Thanks Ilia." He smiled and took the cloth into his own hand, holding it against his forehead, and then Ilia stood up and walked over to where a small campfire was. There was a pot of something simmering above the fire, and a clothes-line set up opposite of Ilia. She walked over to the rack and pulled some items off of it.

"I suppose you'll want your clothes back, now that they're dry," Ilia said. She took his garments off the line, which were next to her riding pants and vest, and started walking over. She was now wearing her favorite skirt and tights, which she brought with her.

Link just then realized that he was still stripped down to his underwear. He quickly slipped his lower half into the blankets as he felt his face turning beat-red. He averted Ilia's eyes when she walked over and handed him his tunic and pants. As she strolled back to the fire, he detected a suppressed giggle. It wasn't the fact that he was near naked that embarrassed him so much, it was the fact that Ilia had been tending to him while he was sleeping. He quickly shuffled into his outfit and began to get onto his feet.

"Oh no you don't, Mister!" said Ilia without even looking over her shoulder. "You stay put! You're sick, and my patients will not be running around! Besides, you wouldn't want to miss dinner, now would you?"

Link rolled his eyes and took a seat, propping his back against the stone wall. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Ilia responded, smiling.

"Know that I'm standing up without even looking."

"What can I say?" She shrugged. "I know you. Probably better than anyone else."

"That you do. So what's on the menu?"

Ilia turned around with a white cloth draped over one arm, and an imaginary quill in the other. She began making a writing motion in her hands, paused, and lifted her eyes to Link. She spoke in a deeper, more nasally voice, saying, "Tonight, we have vegetable soup, the _finest _fresh fruit, and lightly toasted… toast."

Link stroked an imaginary beard, and responded with equal finesse. "Mmm yes, quite. I'd like the toast done medium rare, and garnished with finely cut apples."

"Most certainly Sir!" There was a brief pause, both of them stifling grins, and then burst out laughing. Shortly thereafter, they were seated at the fire, enjoying a very plain dinner. It felt just like old times.

"So where did you get all the pots and stuff?" Link asked.

"Fyer. He's quite a fan of yours. He sends his regards," said Ilia in between a bite of apple.

"I guess so. Is Mikalu, the Zora warrior still out there?"

"Probably not. He told me that he'd get back to his post after I'd woken up. Once I was up and about, he said goodbye and left the cave. That's about the time that your fever set in."

"I hope I didn't cause you much trouble."

"Don't be silly. You know I'm always the one taking of the sick back home. No trouble at all. Besides, you're much easier to care for than a Zora!"

"Oh right, you helped Prince Ralis back in Castle Town. Telma said you found him out on the road. How did that all come about?" Link sat back, ready for a story.

"Well, I was able to escape from the Bublin camp where they had me tied up. They forgot to take my carving knife, so I cut my ropes, found my satchel in a nearby tent and snuck out undetected. While I was running along the road running towards the nearest settlement, which was Castle Town, I just found him lying there, moaning. He'd been hurt while escaping the attack on the Zora's domain, but I only found that out later. He'd lost too much blood to continue running, and the cold had made him sick. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran inside town and pleaded for somebody to help me carry him in. Telma was the first person who offered to help."

"You're so great when it comes to helping people. Just like your mother." Link only realized what he'd said until after the words had left his mouth. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"It's ok, never mind," she said quietly. Neither one said anything for several minutes.

Link glanced out of the cave mouth. The sun was setting, and twilight had set in. A beautiful orange glow radiated off the water and lined the cavern walls with a shimmering display. Ilia gave a small gasp of awe and let her mouth hang open a little. They simply sat and stared until it disappeared a few minutes later.

Link let out a sigh. "What a day, huh?"

"You said it," Ilia agreed. "What's our plan for tomorrow. Are we going home?"

"You are. I have to warn Princess Zelda and the people of Kakariko Village and the Zora's domain of the Bublins. I think they're going to try to attack castle town, so I have to make sure that everyone is ready."

"But that'll take all day! How are you going avoid the Bublins with all of the traveling you have to do? And how are you going to get around? We lost our horses!"

"Oh, I guess I hadn't thought about that."

"Of course you didn't. And there's no way I'm going back to Ordon village alone without Telma's horse. Have you seen her when she's angry?"

Link shuddered. "I don't think I want to…"

"You don't. It's settled then. I'm coming with you."

"But-"

"No buts! You're taking me with you, and that's final. Sheesh, I just planned out your whole day for you. What would you do without me?"

"I don't know, I seemed to have saved Hyrule on my own."

"Oh please, only after _I_ saved Prince Ralis, and _I_ helped you get to the city in the sky, and _I _gave you the horse call."

"But _I_ helped you get your memory- oh forget it. Fine, you can come with."

"Yay, thank you Link!" She grinned from ear to ear. "I finally get to go on an adventure!"

Link laughed and stood up, picking up the water bucket.

"What are you doing?" Ilia asked.

"I'm putting out the fire. It's almost dark, and it'll alert anyone outside to our presence. We don't know if the Bublins will be patrolling outside tonight." Link began pouring the water over the fire, releasing a sizzling cloud of steam and smoke.

"Do you think they'll find us?" Ilia asked anxiously.

"I don't think so, but we can't be too sure. We can take turns keeping watch. I'll keep the first one. I'll wake you up in a couple of hours for your turn."

"We going to bed already? It can't be past 7 o'clock!"

"We'll need plenty of sleep for tomorrow, and we'll only be sleeping half the night each. Trust me, I have this system down. I used it all the time while I was out adventuring and such."

"Who kept the other watch? Epona?" Ilia laughed.

"Um…" Link wasn't so sure about telling Ilia about Midna just yet. It might seem a little weird. "Never mind, just try to get some sleep." Ilia reluctantly obeyed. They each took one blanket and got comfortable.

About 10 minutes later, Ilia spoke up. "It's freezing in here! Did we really have to put out the fire?"

"Sorry, it's a little late for that now. Here, I'll let you use my blanket."

"Thanks Link." Ilia gratefully accepted his blanket and settled back in.

About 15 minutes later, Link started to get chilly himself. The area around the lake must be cooler at night, he thought. Soon, his teeth started to chatter a little. It reminded him of the Yeti's castle.

He must have been chattering more loudly than he thought, because Ilia heard him and spoke up again. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm f-f-fine," he stammered.

"You'll catch cold again! Here, take your blanket back."

"No, then you won't get any sleep f-for your watch."

"I'll be ok, you don't have to keep sacrificing for me!"

"But I have to keep you safe, Ilia! I promised your dad. And myself!" Link noticed both their voices rising.

"I'll be fine!" Ilia retorted.

"Well so will I!" Their shouts hung in the air, ringing in their ears. Both of them felt ashamed.

Link spoke first. "I'm… I'm sorry Ilia."

"Me too," she said immediately after.

Another awkward pause. Link didn't know what they were going to do. Ilia offered up an idea, meekly.

"Maybe, we could… share… the blankets? Together?"

"I… guess we can. As long as we…" He didn't finish.

"We… yeah…."

They both felt very embarrassed while getting their arrangement set up, but they both knew at the same time that it was the best option they had. They climbed into the blankets slowly. It took a lot of repositioning, and few words were exchanged while they were doing so. In the end, they had their backs to each other, but they didn't quite have enough blanket for it.

Ilia said, "Here," and scooted backwards, so their backs were just touching at the shoulder blades. Link felt a shiver run up his spine when they made contact. He felt really awkward, but at least they had enough blanket now, and it was considerably warmer. He tried not to think about it too much, and instead focused on keeping awake for his watch. As the time passed, he became more used to the arrangement, and he took comfort in knowing that Ilia was right there, safe with him.

He didn't know when he drifted off to sleep.

**. . .**

The sound of chirping birds woke Link from his sleep. He let his eyes crack open a bit, enough to see the first signs of daylight creeping in through the mouth of the cave. He felt very rested and drowsy, but then realized that he'd fallen asleep on his watch. "Who cares?" he thought. Obviously he and Ilia were still safe. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, relaxing his muscles. He then became aware of an extra weight on his chest. He tilted his head up slightly, careful not to move too much, lest he wake Ilia. "Wait, why do I have to tilt my head _up_?" he thought. Then he noticed that he and Ilia had shifted a considerable amount during the night.

Link was on his back with Ilia lying on his chest. She had her head wedged between his right shoulder and his neck, with her right arm draped across to his left shoulder, loosely gripping his tunic. Her right hip rested lightly on his, and they each had a leg placed in between each other's. Finally, he noticed that his right arm was wrapped around her, slipped under her arm with his hand on the small of her back. He felt his face heating up, and the whole situation left him speechless. What could he do? If he moved to get out of this position, he'd surely wake her up, but he didn't want to wait until she got up on her own accord. He thought of pretending to be asleep when she woke up to try to avoid any confrontation, but just as he was about to lay his head back down, Ilia gave a slight groan, lifting herself off his chest.

Ilia opened her eyes, slowly at first, but then they sprung open, petrified. Her jaw hung open slightly and her face burned bright pink. She stuttered and stammered as she took her hands off of Link. "U-uh-uh, I-I'm so sorry! I didn't want to- er, I mean- I-I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's not your fault!" Link tried to interject, but it only seemed to make it more awkward. "Well, I don't think so. I mean, it was an accident and that sort of thing isn't done on purpose or anything… hehehe… right? " He forced an embarrassed smile onto his face.

"Yeah, totally an accident, I did not mean to sleep on your chest!" Ilia waved her hands in front of her and shook her head. "Alright, glad that's over!"

"Yeah, now we can get on with the day!" Link sat up.

"Yeah! Here we go!"

"Ok!"

"Ok!"

The two of them went to opposite sides of the cave for a while to collect themselves. Neither of them dared glance towards each other. They gathered their things in silence.

** . . . **

After the morning's awkward arousal, Link and Ilia were both eager to get started on the day's journey, as it was certain to be a long one. They packed up their belongings and grabbed the supplies that Fyer had lent them. They carried the blankets and pans over to his giant cannon, where he was already seated outside. He waved to them as they approached, and when they reached him they set down the supplies in a neat pile.

Ilia spoke, "We can't thank you enough for your help Mister Fyer!"

"Yeah," said Link. "We probably wouldn't have lasted the night if it weren't for you!"

"Oh, pish-posh! It was nothing! Ehehehe!" Fyer laughed. "Anything to help my good friend Link! Besides! Who could have said no to a pretty face like that, young lady!" The last comment was directed towards Ilia, who was rather startled.

"Well gee, uh, thanks?" She blushed, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Ok… moving on," began Link. "We need to get back up to the ridge. Do you think we can use your cannon?"

"Well of course you can! So long as you've got the rupees," Fyer smiled and rubbed his fingers together.

Link paid him and turned to Ilia. "Are you ready to go?"

"When you say 'cannon', what do you mean?" Ilia was hesitant.

Link reassured her, "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe! I've used it countless times."

"Ok kiddos, I've got it all set up. Now, Miss, I just need to know your weight."

"My WHAT?" Ilia was once again taken aback by Fyer's comments. "You certainly are a rude little man."

"No, no, you see I simply need it to calibrate the cannon! If I don't know the weight of the passengers, you may not make it safely to the landing spot!"

"Please Ilia, he needs to know." Link said.

She crossed her arms, "I don't need to tell him anything. That is NOT how to treat a lady."

"If you say so," Fyer shrugged. "I'll just have to guess then." He opened the door to the tower.

"I guess you will!" Ilia marched inside, followed quickly by Link. The door closed behind them.

"Ok, what was that all about?" Link asked.

"It was rude, ok? And he started to give me the creeps when he called me pretty! Did you see that he winked at me?"

"He was just teasing you! He's just an old guy, having some fun. Honestly, I don't understand what's gotten into you."

Just then the tower started to move and the goofy song from the music box outside started playing.

"Quick, hold onto me," said Link. "Wrap your arms around my neck."

"Wh-why?" Ilia's voice quaked a little. She couldn't see it, but Link rolled his eyes.

"So that we don't fly in different directions! Now hurry up!"

Ilia obeyed and held onto Link. The music stopped and the cannon halted. There was a brief pause. Just before they were shot off, Ilia began, "So, when does the cannon- AAHH!" She was cut off by the blast, and she tightened her grip around Link.

Link chuckled a little and looked at the top of the ridge. It was approaching fast, but not fast enough! His stomach dropped when he realized that they didn't have quite enough momentum to reach the top. Acting fast, he took his dual claw shots out of his bag and aimed for the nearest patch of vines on the cliff-side. He shot both claws into the vines and retracted them. They came to a rough stop against the cliff.

Ilia blurted out, "What was that!?"

Link grunted under the strain and replied, "Sorry… umph. This isn't supposed to happen."

"Well, isn't this great? Some shot he turned out to be." She glanced downwards. "Oh no oh no oh no- that was a mistake. We're really high up. Link, whatever you're going to do, please to it now! I don't want a repeat of yesterday's fall!"

"Neither do I! I see another patch of vines, so hold on, we'll be up on top in a moment. Hold tight!" He released one of his claws and aimed it upwards towards the next cluster, then fired. As the chains dragged them up, Link released the other claw and retracted it. Ilia gave a slight squeak as they bashed against the cliff again.

"Please hurry, my arms are getting tired!"

Link sighed and scanned for another spot to launch to. He found a nice spot that would let them climb all the way to the top. He let the claw shot fly and was rewarded with the sound of the claw latching itself into the vines. Like before, he retracted the claw and carried them up. Once they reached the vines, Link said, "Ilia, I need you to climb up the rest of the way."

"Ok, I'll try." She took hold of the vines and started her ascent. She'd nearly reached the top when the vines in one of her hand started to come loose. "Link, I'm slipping!" The vine came out completely and she dangled by one arm. "Help me!" The panic in her voice was unsettling.

"Hang on! I'll try to get you up!" Link started to climb up under her, but grip loosened.

"Link, I'm going to faaAAHHH!" Ilia's vine came completely off the cliff face, and she began to scream. Thinking fast, Link detached one of the claws and pointed it downwards. Ilia was now in a complete free-fall.

With little time, Link shouted, "Grab it!" and fired. Ilia snatched the end of the claw shot and madly clung to it.

"Oh sweet, merciful Goddesses! Don't let me go! Don't let me go!" Ilia had her eyes shut tight, and her voice was trembling with fear.

"It's ok; we're going to get out of this!" Link tried to sound reassuring. "I'm going to swing the claw shot back and forth, and then throw you up onto the cliff, ok? It's not that far; all you have to do is hold on, ok?"

"Yes, just please do it fast!"

"Ok, I'm starting to swing it!" The last thing Link wanted Ilia to do was panic. He needed her to stay calm, so he called out every part of the plan to her. As he swung her back and forth gaining momentum, his arm grew very tired. Finally, he'd gotten enough speed to lift her up. "Ok, get ready to climb up!" He grunted as he hoisted the claw shot one last time, and Ilia let go, landing on the cliff side. "You ok?" he called out.

"I'm fine! Do you need help getting up?" She shouted back.

"I think I've got it! Be up in a moment!" Link maneuvered his way up the cliff side, panting as he pulled himself onto the grassy top. He flopped onto his back and lay there, catching his breath. Ilia was a couple feet away, hand on her chest, breathing deeply. "Well, _that_ could have gone better!" he stated.

"Yeah, let's never do that again." Ilia responded.

"Agreed." Link stood up and took a quick look around. "Castle Town is just a short walk away. Are you ready to get going?"

Ilia looked up at him like his hair was on fire. "What?! We almost died, _again_, and you're just going to get up and move on like nothing happened?"

Link smiled, "Yeah, that's kind of how this whole 'adventuring' thing works. Almost dying is kind of a daily hazard."

"I'm not so sure I'm up for this…" Ilia said softly.

Link extend his hand towards her, "C'mon, we'll get there together. It'll be fun!"

Ilia placed her hand in his, and he pulled her up. She smiled and held his hand for a few moments before releasing it, saying, "Ok, let's do this!" The two of them began their trek toward Castle Town.

** . . . **

It really wasn't much of a journey. They surprisingly met no Bublin forces, found no trace of them at all. They reached the Castle town gates in just ten minutes. Entering from the west side, they went past the STAR tent and into the main plaza. There was still a lot of litter spread out from the party two days before. Apparently cleaning up wasn't on the top of the priority list.

Ilia took one look around and said, "Sheesh, talk about a dump! What happened here, did a storm blow through and take all the decency with it?"

"No, just their sobriety," answered Link.

"Say what?"

"They got drunk, ok? There was a big party and I guess they were all too hung over to clean it up. I'm sure they'll get on it soon."

"How do you know all this?"

"I was here. That's where I had to go the other night. Princess Zelda threw a banquet in my honor as the hero of Hyrule, so they partied a little too hard."

"Oh, I see how it was. You leave me alone at home, crying my eyes out, while you go party with your sophisticated friends."

"Ok, that's not fair. How would you respond to a letter from the ruler of the entire kingdom, saying she was throwing an entire night in your honor? Would you have simply not shown up?"

"… I guess that wasn't very nice of me." Ilia sighed.

"Ok, look," began Link. "Things have-"

"Really Link, it's ok," Ilia cut him off. "I'm sorry I've been so cranky today. It's my fault. I don't know what's come over me. I guess I'm just stressed out from everything that's been happening. Let's just tell this princess of yours about the Bublins and get home."

Link was a little surprised at Ilia, but he agreed. He did want to get this over with quickly, and he was certainly not excited to see Zelda again after their last visit. Link waved his way into the castle, escorting Ilia past the guards. Upon entering the main hall, Link was immediately addressed by the nearest guard.

"Sir Link, what can I do for you?" the guard asked.

"I need to see Princess Zelda immediately."

"I'm afraid Zelda is indisposed of at the moment. She is about to attend a council meeting. You'll have to come back at another time."

"Really, this is rather important. I'm sure she'll want to hear it."

"I can't let you do that Sir. Perhaps I can relay the message?"

Suddenly a voice spoke up from the other side of the room, "Well, if it isn't mister Hit-and-Run himself!" Zelda approached the three of them, and she did not look happy.

"Oh, perfect. She's still upset." Link muttered.

"What did you _do_?" whispered Ilia.

"I kind of ditched her in the middle of the party so I could get home faster."

"Oh is that all you think you did?" Apparently Zelda had better hearing than Link had anticipated. Must've been the ears, he thought. "No, you not only left me alone for the night, you embarrassed me in front of all my people with your unprofessional behavior, not to mention late arrival, took some of the best weapons from my personal armory, and worst of all, you never even _thanked_ me for all the work I put into this celebration.

Link really didn't feel like putting up with Zelda at the moment. "Ok, the _weapon_, ONE thing, I took from the armory was a gift from your head guard, Ralin, and you put me in a very difficult situation at home! I was not asked if I could come, I was basically ordered. And the night hadn't gone smoother if you hadn't been so inconsiderate of what I wanted! Not to mention that sham of a play, which made me look like some sort of pretty fairy boy, prancing around Hyrule field in tights while swinging around a magical stick!"

"I had _nothing_ to do with that, and trust me, that man's so-called 'theatre company' won't be making any more appearances here, so don't you DARE blame this on me!"

Ilia spoke for the first time she'd gotten in the castle. "Look here, _Princess_! Link saved the entire kingdom from destruction, and you've got some nerve to come around blaming a whole nights' worth of trouble on him, especially when he comes to you to help you win a war!"

"I'm sorry, but who are you supposed to be?" Zelda crossed her arms and glared.

"I'm Ilia, thanks for asking so nicely! I happen to be Link's best friend, and if it hadn't been for your stupid party, I bet I wouldn't have nearly drowned, or been shot at by Bublins, or shot out of a giant CANNON!"

"Oh you want to go there?" Zelda placed her hands on her hips and strut up to Ilia, looming over her. "Fine, I'll go there! I bet that if it hadn't been for _you_, I would've gotten to bang Link the other night!"

"You WHAT!?" Ilia's face turned blood red, and she looked like she was about to tear Zelda to shreds.

"This cannot be happening right now…" Link murmured, covering his face in his hands.

"Oh, it is! Yeah, I don't care _what_ kind of news you're bringing me, I don't want to hear it, not until you apologize for everything you've screwed up." Zelda stuck her finger in Link's face.

Ilia slapped Zelda's hand away from Link's face. "Fine! See if we care! We don't need your help, you need ours! So when you want get your act together, and stop being such a bratty little-"

"Ilia, we're leaving. Now." Link took Ilia by the arm and half led, half dragged her out of the door. Zelda stomped behind them and slammed the door after they'd left. They didn't speak a word until they'd reached the plaza.

"What is her _problem_?" Ilia said as she paced back and forth in front of Link, who was seated on the stone bench around the fountain. "I mean, she tried to pin the whole thing on you, when she'd obviously-"

"Ok, Ilia, you need to calm down. You're really stressed out, and we need to think of what we're going to do next."

"Great, I say we march right back in there and knock some sense into her. You hold her, and I'll punch that pretty smirk right off her face."

"I'm serious Ilia, we've got a major issue on our hands! If Zelda isn't aware of the attacks then Castle Town will be completely caught off guard, and I don't think we can beat the Bublins without the full strength of the Hyrulian army at our backs."

"I think we might be able to help you out with that," said a girl off to the side. Link looked over and saw Ashei, the resistance member, standing a couple yards away.

"Ashei, what are you doing back in Castle Town?" Link asked.

"I'm here for the meeting. I suggest you come along as well," She said coolly. "And your friend, as well. She'll probably want in on this too."

"What do you mean?" Ilia said, perplexed. "What's going on?"

"The Resistance has more work to do." Ashei replied.

**Yay! Plot development! I hope you enjoyed Link and Ilia's little episode there, because it was certainly fun to write! I finally got past a major writing block and managed to piece this all together, and hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long to write! As always, please rate and review, and also, pass it along to your friends, acquaintances, strangers, enemies, frenemies, and doppelgangers. Seriously though, give it a review. Thanks!**

**~musicfrommykeyboard**


	7. Chapter 7, The Calm

**Hey everyone, new chapter! It's shorter compared to the last couple, but that's because I've reorganized how I plan on writing these last few chapters so I can get them out faster. Instead of having two chapters, I've split it up into three, which will help them flow a little easier too. I hope you enjoy this one!**

Chapter 7: The Calm

Inside Telma's bar, several figures conversed in hushed voices. They were seated around a square table, gathering around a map of Hyrule, pointing to various places, each other, and drawing imaginary lines. When the door to the building swung open, each one of them jumped a little.

Ashei stepped into the room and approached the small group huddled around the table without a word. Link and Ilia filed in after her, but waited patiently by the door until they were acknowledged.

"Link, Ilia! What a wonderful surprise!" said Telma, smiling as she turned to them with open arms. "Your timing couldn't have been more perfect! Come, join us, we've been discussing plans for the upcoming war."

"War, you're planning on a _war_?" asked Link. "And weren't you still in Ordon just this morning?"

"We were," said Rusl, stepping away from the group. "But we received a letter from Shad, warning us of the dangerous bands of Bublins now roaming Hyrule field, we immediately rushed to get here. It was quite the run!"

Shad stood up from his seat at the table. "Yes, I sent letters to not only those in Ordon, but to the other villages as well."

Link then say Renado, Kakariko Village's Shaman rise from the table as well as Gor Coron, the Goron Elder. Renado spoke, "A pleasure to see you again Link, and you as well Ilia." Ilia smiled and waved. Link gave a simple nod of acknowledgement.

Then, the Zora Prince, Ralis, appeared from behind Gor Coron and gave a humble bow. "It is my honor to serve the savior of our kingdom once again. And many thanks to you, fair Ilia, for being my caretaker during my illness. I owe you both my life."

Ilia whispered to Link as Prince Ralis stepped away, "He certainly has taken this whole 'ruler' thing seriously! 'Fair Ilia?'" She giggled a little, and Link returned a smile.

"Now you've already seen Ashei, and Auru of course is here as well," said Telma.

Auru raised his hand and waved, saying, "Good to see you!"

"This is incredible!" began Link. "I can't believe we're all here at once!"

"Well, it's no coincidence, really. These are dire times," stated Ashei. "Obviously you've witnessed the invasion that is now taking place." She turned to the others, "When I saw them, they had just returned from Hyrule Castle. They had attempted to warn Princess Zelda of the danger, but something went wrong."

"What?" Rusl blurted out. "Why didn't she listen?"

"I'm really not sure what her problem with Link was, but she wouldn't listen to a word either of said!" said Ilia. "She just kept on going on about how Link ditched her stupid party!"

"There was a party?" said Telma, distraught. "And I missed out?"

"That's not really important right now, Telma," said Renado.

"He's right, but what is important is what we're going to do without the support of Zelda's soldiers. There is no way for us to engage these Bublins in a war if we don't have an army," said Link.

Shad quickly interjected. "But Link, we don't even know how many of them there are! It may be possible to that this is just a group of rouge Bublins that are trying to raid small villages, not attack the capital!"

Link shook his head. "I'm afraid there is little chance of that. The Bublins always answer up to their commander, which last I checked was King Bublin. After I defeated him in Hyrule Castle, he took all of his troops away. I saw them leave. There were hundreds of them. This isn't a group of 20 or so awol soldiers trying to score a merchant raid. They have an army. And we don't even come close."

"I wouldn't count yourselves out yet!" said a voice from the door.

"Who's there?" called out Telma, as everyone turned to face this newcomer.

"A friend. One with a lot of connections." It was Ralin, captain of the guard.

"Ralin! How did you know we were here?" Link asked, excited to see him.

"I overheard your conversation at the plaza from my seat at the outdoor restaurant. I had to see what this 'meeting' was about, because I've had a number of scouts reporting in about the unusual amounts of Bublin patrols. I can get you soldiers. A lot of them."

"Not to be rude, but your _soldiers_ haven't always been the most eager to jump into battle," said Telma, obviously recalling their failure to assist when she and Ilia took Prince Ralis to Kakariko Village.

"They will, if they have a hero to rally behind," he replied, looking at Link. "Not only can you fight well, Link, but you inspire and strengthen those whom you lead. If you are prepared to command them, they will follow you into battle."

"But sir, we still don't know what we're up against," explained Link. "Shad made a very good point. We need to find out how many soldiers we'll need to combat them. That includes surveying their numbers, weapons, and other conditions that might affect the outcome. We need to find their camp and spy on them before we march into battle."

"How are we supposed to find their camp?" asked Shad.

"It shouldn't be too hard," reassured Ralin. "My scouts report that their patrols often retreat to the northern section of Hyrule field at night. It would make sense that they've set up fortifications in or around the canyons and caves near the cliffs."

"Then that's where we're going," said Link confidently. "Tonight."

**. . .**

Link and Ashei volunteered for the reconnaissance mission, and were scoping out the cliffs for any signs of the Bublin camps. After several hours of searching they hadn't found anything and were ready to turn back. Suddenly, Link froze, and Ashei stopped to listen. Link put his finger up to his mouth, signaling her to keep quiet, and then motioned them to stand against the cliff wall. He perked up his long Hylian ears and remained motionless, like an animal stalking its prey. Ashei heard something like the pounding of many heavy feet, and Link dropped down on all fours.

"Get down!" he whispered urgently.

Ashei obeyed and slunk into the shadows as much as she could. The pounding became louder, closer, and suddenly, five or six Bublins, mounted on their giant boars came speeding around the corner. They didn't see them, and instead rode right past them and down the path.

Link got up and said, "Quick, follow them! They'll lead us back to their camp!" Just as he said this, the horde, instead of rounding the next corner, made a sharp turn towards the cliff. They road straight for the rocks, and just as they should have crashed, they disappeared.

"What… what just happened?" said Ashei, bewildered.

"I don't know. Keep an eye on the spot where they vanished. There may be a secret passage, and we don't want to lose sight of it." They ran to the cliff side and followed the road up to the point where the Bublins had turned. "Look for a way in," said Link.

They began looking for the entrance, but there was no hole, no cave. "Maybe it's opened by a switch or something, and it's been disguised to look like a rock," suggested Ashei. "Try pressing any rocks or bulges coming out from the cliff side." They began feeling along the wall, looking for anything out of the ordinary. It was all solid stone. Suddenly, Ashei gave a small gasp. Link looked over to her, and her hand was in the wall. Actually _inside_ the wall!

"Is your hand stuck? What happened?" asked Link as he ran to her side.

"No, it's not stuck! There_ is_ no wall here! Look, it's just an illusion!" Ashei took her hand away from the wall, showing it to him, and then placed it back through the rocks. "It's some kind of magic door! Who could have made something like this?"

"I don't know, but they're probably working with the Bublins. This has to be it! This is their camp!" Link was excited.

"Ok, are you ready to go in? We don't know what's on the other side of this wall. It could be a trap." Ashei drew her sword.

"Yes, I'm ready," said Link, taking out his own sword and shield. "But remember, we have to try to go unnoticed. Only make yourself visible if you have to." A haunting thought suddenly entered Link's mind, that the person who had made this magical barrier was the same one who had overpowered Midna. He shuddered, but pushed the thought away. "Ok, on the count of three. One-"

"Screw that," said Ashei, and she charged in through the wall.

"Ashei, wait!" Link called after her, and stepped through the wall too. At first, all he could see was a few orange splotches of light, but his eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom of the cave. Ashei had her back to the rocky wall, her squinted eyes surveying the tunnel that led deeper into the cave. She turned her eyes to Link for a moment, gave him a glare, and motioned with her head for him to join her in her hiding spot. He quietly shuffled behind her, and she shifted along the wall, quickly darting in and out of cover. She was quick! Link followed her lead, and soon they came to a bend in the tunnel. They stopped on the inside of the curve, and Ashei slowly poked her head around from the side. Without turning back, she wave Link forward with her hand, pointing around the corner. Link glanced around the corner, to see a gate with two Bublin guards outside. They pulled back from the curve and Ashei spoke first.

"How thould we take them out?" she whispered softly.

Link gave her a puzzled look. "Does she have a lisp?" he wondered.

Ashei rolled her eyes and explained in the same voice, but this time Link could understand it a little easier. "The 's' sound is the sharpest sound. They'll hear."

"Oh," Link said, befuddled. "So…" he began, mimicking her dialect, "I don't think we should hurt them, or at least not kill them. If somebody finds them, they'll know that we're here."

"Can you think of a distraction?"

"Hmm." Link peered around the corner again and took a closer look at the gate. The Bublin guards we're standing on two separate towers behind the gate, armed with bows and arrows. Above one of them was a bucket placed on top of a small rocky ledge. The gate itself was wooden except for the doors, which were comprised of iron bars, arranged horizontally and vertically. Climbable, he thought. He turned back to Ashei.

"Here's the plan. I'm going to cause them to fight with each other, and while they're preoccupied, we'll climb over the gate and sneak through, ok?"

"Good, I'll be ready to run."

Link pulled out his bow and readied an arrow. He took aim and fired, letting the arrow whiz through the air. It struck its mark, just as he planned. The arrow hit the bucket, which turned out to be full of water, and fell onto the unsuspecting Bublin. The bucket stuck onto its head, and it frantically tried to pull it off. The other Bublin was howling with laughter, pointing at the ridiculous spectacle unfolding. When the now soaked Bublin wriggled free, it found the arrow stuck into the wood. Just as Link had planned, he became enraged at the other Bublin, which was currently mocking him. He leapt down from his tower and ran over to the other, shaking it violently. The Bublin's laughs turned to screams as he tumbled down, landing face first on the rocky floor. The two of them began to wrestle, and Link motioned to Ashei to follow.

They ran swiftly to the gate and scaled the metal doors. They hopped onto one of the towers and glanced at the two green masses now squirming on the floor, tangled tightly in a fierce struggle. Ashei picked up a key from a rack, presumably for the gate, before leaping down from the tower, executing a silent roll to stop herself. Link followed suit and the two of them ventured deeper, with Ashei leading the way.

The first thing they noticed was the sheer size of the cave. It opened up into an underground city, it seemed. Link saw dozens of tents, all of which were big enough to fit maybe 10 soldiers each. His mouth hung agape, trying to think of how many Bublins could be inside here right now. Several hundred, at least.

Ashei must've been thinking the same thing. "So, they have us heavily outnumbered." Link nodded. "But that doesn't mean anything until we find out what kind of weapons and equipment they have. Come on, let's see if we can't get close." She began sneaking down towards the camps, keeping a watchful eye out for any patrols. Link struggled to keep up with her while not making enough sound to alert somebody to their presence, but she was just too fast.

"Ashei, do you think you could slow down?" Link begged.

"What's the matter? Can't keep up?" she mocked him.

"Not without making too much noise," Link replied, trying to convey his seriousness.

"Fine, we'll slow up a little, but we have to get through here quickly."

For the next few minutes, they traveled along the outside ring of tents, checking inside them occasionally. Most of them had simple layouts; bedrolls on the ground, and racks for placing weapons, most of which consisted of bows, quivers, clubs, and knives.

They found no indication of special armor or weapons, which Link was thankful for. He'd dealt with Bublins in the past, and if they had the same equipment they'd always had, they might stand a chance against a larger army.

"Ok, now we know what we'll be fighting," said Ashei, "But now we have to see how many mounts they have. They're boars may be stupid, but they're powerful enough to charge through a rank of soldiers with ease."

Link nodded. "We should try to find the stable," Link stood up from his crouch, peering over the tents. "There, I see a barn of some kind! That's got to be it!" He crouched back down. "I'd say it's about 30 meters away, just around the bend from the tents." He led the way this time, moving at a slower, more cautious pace.

Suddenly, torch lights appeared from inside the group of tents. "A patrol! Quick, hide!" said Ashei in a harsh whisper, pulling Link with her behind a stack of barrels. A group of four, maybe five Bublins emerged from the tents with torches in hand. They glanced around, and then moved on. Link let out a sigh of relief. Ashei flicked her head in the direction of the stables and whispered, "Keep moving."

They snuck up to the building adjacent to the barn and peered around the corner. One guard, lightly dozing off. Link picked up a stone off the cavern floor and chucked it off into the distance. The guard woke up with a start, gave a few incoherent mumbles, and followed the sound of the rock as it bounced off the bumpy stone. "Move," Link said, and they darted inside.

The barn was long, and full of boars. "Shoot, how many of them do you think there are?" inquired Ashei. Link shrugged. "Ok, you take that side, I'll take this side. Let's do a quick count."

Link began going down the row, counting to himself. "14, 15, 16, 17, eighte- Epona!" There was Epona, locked up in one of the stables by herself, with a muzzle around her mouth. She shuffled her feet in excitement when she saw Link and gave her mane a shake. Link opened the gate and threw himself around Epona's neck. He then untied the muzzle and pulled it off her face, and was promptly rewarded with a flurry of wet, horse kisses. He laughed softly and ran his hand through her main with one hand and rubbed her snout with his other saying, "That's a good girl, stay nice and quiet. We're going to get you out of here." He cut the rope that was tying her to a wooden poll, and while he was unfastening it, Epona put her head down to Link's waist and started sniffing at his pouch. Once the rope was off, Link patted her head saying, "Sorry Epona, I don't have any carrots with me right now." She let out a quick, playful puff of breath onto his face. He smiled and looked outside the stable to see if he could spot Ashei. She'd just finished counting her row, and turned to check on Link's progress. She gave him a "what's the deal?" look and jogged over to him. She rounded the corner and gasped.

"A horse?" she exclaimed.

"_My_ horse. Epona. They must have taken her when we jumped off Hyrule Bridge."

"When you _what_?"

"Long story, but if Epona's here, that probably means that Telma's horse is here as well. Check the next few stables, see if it's there."

Ashei nodded and disappeared. He heard another gasp, followed by, "Dalton! You ok, boy?"

"Who?" Link asked from the other side of the wall.

"Dalton, Telma's horse. I've ridden him many times. He's here too."

"Great, I'll be right there. Epona, you stay put," he pointed to the ground for emphasis. He whipped around the corner to see that Ashei had already unbound the black horse. "Alright, this is great. We can get out of here now. We've found out about they're numbers, weapons, and mounts. Let's take the horses and-"

Ashei butted in, "We still have to find out they're _plans_ though! If we can find that out, they won't stand a chance!"

"But Ashei, we have no idea where to look! I say we quit while we're ahead. Every moment we spend here increases our chances of being found!"

"Well you can leave if you want, but I'm going to sneak around some more." And with that, she dashed past Link and towards the opposite door they came in.

"Ugh, fine!" Link called after her. "Guys, stay right here, we'll be back soon. And try not to make any noise!" He then followed Ashei, who was peering out the door. He stood behind her, and whispered, "Where do you suppose we'll find their plans?"

"There." She pointed to a large tent about 20 meters away.

"What makes you so sure?"

"It's bigger than all the other tents. Looks important."

"What kind of reason is that?"

"You got a better hunch?" She turned her head around and glared him in the eyes.

Link backed up a few inches and averted making eye contact. "Well… no."

"Then shut up, buck up, and keep up." And with that, she was out the door. Link trailed behind her, once again. They came up to the tent and Ashei glanced inside. "Empty, let's go. You keep watch while I search."

They darted inside and Link took a quick look around. There were several dressers or desks of sorts, a table with a map of Hyrule and markings all over it, some barrels and sacks off in the corner behind the table, and a few bed rolls. He then crouched down by the entrance and began looking for any signs of trouble. He glanced back to Ashei, who was presently shuffling through the drawers. "Find anything?" he asked.

"Not yet, keep watching."

Link looked outside again, but then noticed a few lights that weren't there before. "Ashei!" he whispered harshly, "I think someone's coming!"

"Just give me a couple more seconds."

"Seriously Ashei, we've got to go!" The lights were definitely getting close. A bead of sweat dripped down Link's brow.

"But I haven't found anything yet! Give me another moment."

"Too late! Hide!" He dashed to the corner and started moving barrels out of the way. Ashei slipped behind a curtain that was hanging from floor to ceiling up against one of the walls. Link found an empty barrel, flipped it over his head, crouched down inside of it and scooted over next to the other barrels. He was way too big to be doing this, but it was the only option he had. Just then he heard several people enter the tent. There was a lot of indiscernible noise as they rummaged around. He felt claustrophobic under the barrel, and he was getting very uncomfortable. "Come on, just do what you need to do and leave," he thought to himself. Then he heard one of them speak.

"Leave us," it said, and a number of feet shuffled away. Link recognized the voice as King Bublin. "So, he _is_ behind this!" Link thought.

After some more moving around, Link deduced that there was one other with King Bublin, and they were both gathered around the table. The large Bublin was seated on the far side of the table, and the other was on the side closest to Link's hiding place. King Bublin spoke again, "Master, everything is proceeding as you requested. My men will be ready to strike within two days. We are already beginning to seal the pathway to the Zora's domain once more, so Castle Town will have no assistance when we attack. Our fortifications in Hyrule field have been fully planned, and assembly will take only a matter of hours. Any objections?" Silence. "Good, then we will begin our next phase."

The other creature spoke. "What about the boy?" His voice sent shivers up Link's spine. It was raspy, cold, and dark. It was like listening to a nightmare. And it was only inches away from Link, separated by just a few thin planks of wood.

"My scouts reported him dead two days ago," King Bublin answered confidently.

"Reported? But not _confirmed_," replied the other. "I wanted a body."

"Master, he fell of the Great Bridge. It would have been impossible to-"

"To WHAT, swine!?" The creature stood up and slammed the table. "To follow up on my orders?! I told you that the boy MUST be dealt with!"

"He's little more than a child, Master!"

Link could feel the hate emanating off of this new adversary, who apparently wanted him dead. "That _child_ managed to slay repel the Twilight Realm from this world, repair the Mirror of Twilight, and defeat Lord Zant, all with just the help of a weakened Twilit imp!" _He knows about Midna?!_ Link realized, with horror. A thought crossed his mind that this creature was the same one that broke off his vision with Midna. "A quick swim in some lake isn't going to finish him off."

"I-I'm sorry Master. Please forgive me for my foolish judgment." King Bublin's voice was quaky. The magic aura emanating off of this man was overwhelming. It made Link's skin crawl, like thousands of tiny roaches had squirmed under his tunic and were gnawing at his flesh. It took every ounce of his will to keep from screaming out in agony. But then, the magic subsided.

"I will spare you, for now. It may demoralize the troops to see their king's head impaled on a steak before my tent, right before their battle." Link almost vomited at the thought. "But now, you will escort me to the encampments, so I may speak to the troops."

"Yes Master, of course Master," said King Bublin, as he stood up. The two of them exited the tent, and Link breathed a sigh of relief. He lifted up the barrel and stood up, his joints sore from being squished inside the barrel for so long. Ashei emerged from behind the curtain, her face even paler than usual.

"What _was _that thing?" Her voice was weak and terrified.

"I don't know, but it was horrifying. We need to get out of here, now. Skip stealth, I'm not staying around here one second more than I need to."

"I actually agree with you on this one." They ran for the stables at top speed. Since it was such a short distance, they didn't run into any guards. They reached Epona and Dalton and mounted up, Link on Epona, and Ashei on Dalton. Link took the front, and they charged through the cave. Horns blew, Bublins screamed, and flaming arrows whizzed past them as they rode in and around camp. Once they reached the gate, Link dispatched of the Bublin guards with his sword while Ashei unlocked it with the key she'd stolen. Once the lock was off, they remounted and rushed outside. They rode as fast as they could back to Castle Town, and didn't look behind them once, for fear of what they might see.

And Link swore he could hear that creature roaring in anger, even after they'd reached the town.

**. . .**

Link didn't say much to anyone when he got back to Telma's bar. Not everyone was there at the time, so he and Ashei decided to wait to give their report. Link sat down at the counter, placed his head in his hands, ran his fingers through his hair, and then stared off into space.

Telma leaned on the other side of the counter across from Link. She tapped him on the shoulder, and once he'd met her gaze, quietly asked, "Do you want me to get you a drink, Hon? You look like you could use it."

Link sighed. He did need something to relax. "Ok. But nothing too strong."

Telma smiled, "That, I can do." She pulled a bottle up from under the counter and poured him a small glass and put a few ice cubes in it. She set it down in front of him and lightly squeezed his shoulder, saying, "Try to perk up before the rest of the folks get here. We gotta inspire confidence, ok?"

Link nodded and began working on his drink. He was about halfway done when Ilia entered from Telma's private quarters. She was dressed in a night gown, but it didn't look like she'd been sleeping. She walked over to Link, concerned. She placed her hand on his back and bent over, with her head next to his. "Hey," she said, "are you ok? Did everything go ok?"

"Yeah, everything went well. We found out what we needed to know, and we found Epona too," Link replied, putting on a smile.

"Then what's wrong?" She gently rubbed his back. He felt comforted, her warm hand slowing the nervous shaking he'd had since he'd returned. Before he could answer, the last of the resistance members filed in.

"I'll explain later," Link said as he stood up, joining Ashei in the center of the room. She had managed to calm herself down as well, assuming her familiar emotionless expression. She nodded to Link, and he returned it.

As the group formed into a semicircle around them, Ashei whispered in Link's ear, "Do you mind handling this one? Public speaking isn't my strongest suit."

Link smiled, "Sure." Once everyone was seated, he began. "I'm glad to report that our reconnaissance mission was a success. We now have a good estimate on their numbers, equipment, mounts, and even their battle plans." The group cheered, congratulating each other, as if they'd had something to do with it.

Ralin addressed Link, "So, Link, what's your opinion? Do you think we stand a chance?"

"I think that all depends on what we can take into battle. They will certainly have more troops than us, as well as more boars than we have horse, but their equipment is lacking compared to ours, and they no longer have the element of surprise. Also, an important note, they plan on cutting off the passage to the Zora domain, so we can't receive reinforcements."

Prince Ralis scoffed. "As if the Zora would march on land when we have a river to swim through. Their general is a fool for thinking he could outsmart my warriors. I can have my forces here by sunrise, if it is your wish."

"That's good to hear. We'll need the support. We don't have much time to prepare. According to the plans, they hope to be ready to attack in two days' time. They will be building fortifications somewhere in the northern areas of Hyrule field, which they plan to use as their base of operations during their siege on Castle Town. So yes, they plan on taking over the kingdom."

"Just _who_ is leading them though?" asked Rusl.

"King Bublin is involved, but there is someone, some_thing_ else that is merely using King Bublin to control the Bublin forces, but that's all we know. Neither of us got a good look at him."

"So we don't know who or what this creature is or wants, other than the throne?" Telma said, confused.

Ashei spoke up for the first time, "We don't know anything, other than he knows about Link, and has been hunting him down." There were a number of shocked expressions and gasps from within the crowd, most notably from Ilia. She placed her hand over her mouth, eyes widened. Link made eye contact with her and then looked down at the ground before swallowing hard. They both now knew why they'd been attacked by the Bublins.

"That's not what's important." Link stood up straight, remembering Telma's request to be confident. "What's important now is preparing for the battle. I believe that if we can defeat this… _thing_, whoever it is, that King Bublin will surrender. This man has him under his thumb, but if we can eliminate him, then King Bublin should call off the attack. So the most important thing in this battle is getting him out of the way. I suggest that I lead a group of elite soldiers through the battle into their fort, where we will take him down and end it before there is too much bloodshed."

Captain Ralin stood up and placed his right hand on his chest. "It would be my honor to join you in this mission."

Rusl, Auru, and Ashei also volunteered to accompany Link.

"A well-conceived plan." It was Shad who spoke. "However, we must be prepared to defeat this army by conventional means as well. We will need a person with the military knowledge to effectively lead the rest of the troops, giving you time to defeat him."

Ashei gestured to Shad. "Well, Bookworm, I'd say you'd be best for the job."

"What? _ME_?" Shad obviously hadn't expected that response.

"Yeah, why not? Surely you've read about all the great wars in Hyrule's history, right? You've probably read the autobiography of every general since Hyrule's creation!" Link found it odd that Ashei would so openly praise somebody like this.

"Well, I suppose I have studied the battle tactics used in the Great Civil War of the last age quite extensively," Shad said, his hand on his chin, pondering. "Alright, I'll do it!"

"Excellent! It seems that everything is coming together," Ralin said confidently. "Tomorrow morning, I will begin assembling as many troops as we can spare. We will be ready to fight by sunset tomorrow."

Link nodded. "Good. Prince Ralis, please send word to your troops as soon as possible."

"Of course, Sir Link," Ralis responded with a small bow.

"And with that, I say we call it a night. Good work everyone, we'll see you tomorrow morning!" shouted Telma. People began clearing out, and Ilia went up to Link. They didn't speak to each other, but simply walked side by side out the door. They sat together in the cool, crisp night air in the alleyway outside, looking up at the stars for about 10 minutes before Ilia spoke.

"Do you really think we stand a chance?" she asked, sincerely.

"I don't know." Link sighed. "This… this man, he's… powerful. I don't know if I'll be able to take him down. I've never felt so… intimidated by someone before. And I never even got a look at him!"

"Truly? After all those battles, all those monsters and evil people you fought, you're afraid of this man more than any other?"

"I just don't know what I'm up against! And with my Master Sword, I don't know if I'll be able to defeat him! The only reason I beat Zant was because of that sword, not to mention Ganondorf."

"Who's Ganondorf?"

"A powerful, evil sorcerer who used Zant as his puppet. All along it was him who was giving Zant his powers."

"So you beat this evil sorcerer by yourself, and you're afraid of another man when you have a whole army of soldiers who will be helping you?"

Link sighed deeply and looked down at his feet. "Ilia, I've never once been fighting on my own. There's always been someone, LOTS of people who have been helping me along my entire journey. I'm not some all-powerful, invincible warrior that everybody makes me out to be. I'm not a war hero."

"Hey, listen to me." Ilia turned Link's head to face hers, moving it with her hand under his chin. After they we're facing each other, she slid her hand from his chin up to his cheek and smiled. "You're MY hero."

Link was touched. He smiled, then tightly hugged her. She returned the hug, wrapping her arms around him, and sighed deeply. Link whispered "Thank you," before he released her. He felt warm inside, and he stood up, smiling. "Well," he began, shuffling his feet a little. "We'd better get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah. Goodnight Link."

"Goodnight Ilia." Link left the alley to walk to Shad's house, where he'd be staying. Ilia walked back to Telma's bar. All the way to Shad's house, Link's mind was running at full speed, going over everything that had happened that day. It felt like so long ago, waking up with Ilia in his arms. He smiled. Wait, why was he smiling? Hadn't it been really… awkward and uncomfortable for them? Looking back on it, it wasn't as bad as he'd remembered. He couldn't shake the thought from his mind as he got ready for bed. He plopped down on Shad's couch, pulling the blankets over him, and breathed in deeply before he let it out in an audible sigh. He could smell Ilia's scent, her hair, still clinging to him as he drifted into a deep slumber.

**Ah, I liked this ending a lot. It just felt so… satisfying. If you liked it, great, give the story a favorite and follow it! Also, don't forget to review it and tell me what you thought of it!**

**On another note, next chapter is going to be EPIC! Seriously guys, you have no idea how excited I am to write this next installment. I've got so much good stuff planned. It should blow you away. It's going to be a long one, I'll say that much, so it may not come out for a little while, but I shouldn't have too many problems writing it. Once again, thanks for reading and please give a review!**


	8. Chapter 8, Courage

**Wow, this was a tough one, but I enjoyed every moment of writing it! So many of the ideas I've been coming up with for MONTHS finally get to come out! I'm satisfied with this, and I really hope you all enjoy it! I'd like to give special thank you for those of you who have followed this and give me support through the reviews or private messages. It really does help. Anyway, enough of me blabbering, please enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 8: Courage

Red. All Link could see was red. The ground, the walls, on his hands, everywhere, red. Dead soldiers piled high, a shadowy figure standing atop a hill of corpses. He screamed into his hands, covering his eyes, trying to shake himself awake. He gasped as he tore off his blankets, placing his hand on his chest. As he caught his breath, he looked around Shad's house. Shad was nowhere to be seen. Link listened to his racing heart begin to slow as he composed himself, filtering out the images he'd seen a moment before.

He had barely gotten any sleep that night. Nightmares of war had plagued him for hours on end. The sun could now be seen above the city walls, which meant it must have been midmorning. It was time for him to get going. He was sure there was a lot he needed to do. He got dressed and gathered his things, and then he went outside.

On his way to Telma's Bar, he saw a legion of soldiers marching down the street, while the soldier in front shouted commands. They patrolled around the fountain square, practicing who knows what kind of formations. The towns' folk knew that something was wrong, with all the extra soldiers they'd seen around the city, and everyone seemed to be on edge. Link was no exception. He entered the bar, eager to preoccupy himself with whatever preparations needed to be done.

Telma was busy coordinating a number of men as they carried heavy crates out of the bar. It took her a moment to notice Link, but she barely slowed down her job as she addressed him. "There you are! Ralin left a to-do list for you on the counter for whenever you got up. Haven't looked at it, so don't ask."

"Um, right," Link said and walked over to the counter. He picked up the slip, which wasn't terribly lengthy, but he certainly had enough to keep himself busy. The list read,

"Link, please try to get these tasks done before this evening:

Meet up with Shad and run over his battle plan. Make any adjustments necessary.

Discuss battle plans with Prince Ralis and his men, who be arriving at approximately noon.

Talk to Gor Coron about receiving additional support from the Kakariko Village Gorons.

Gather any additional troops other than the previously volunteered Resistance members whom you want to join our strike force.

Practice with strike force to develop tactics and strategies. (I will make myself available for this, so let me know when we will do so.)

After you've completed these tasks, I would like you to speak to my soldiers about how to combat these Bublins, and also give a motivational speech if you can. I know this is a lot to ask, but time is short and I won't have time to cover it all. See you this evening and good luck,

Captain Ralin."

Link put the list in his pocket and walked over to the door to Telma's personal quarters in hopes of finding Ilia there. He opened the door and looked around, but she wasn't there. Disappointed, he returned to the bar.

"You're still here?" Ask Telma. "You'd better get a move on! It's almost noon!"

"Yes Ma'am." He nodded and left quickly. Telma returned to barking orders to the movers. As soon as Link was outside he realized that he had no idea where Shad was! Or any of the other people he was supposed to meet for that matter. He began walking around the market square, asking people if they knew where certain people were. No luck. Just then, Link felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Ilia, smiling, her hands behind her back.

"Good morning, sleepy head. Finally out and about, are we?" she teased, giggling to herself.

Link sighed. At least she seemed happy this morning. It cheered him up a little. "Yeah, I'm trying to find Shad, and a bunch of other people too," he replied.

"Well, I know Shad is in the armory, and I just got back from talking to Prince Ralis. He's outside the west wall in the Zora tents. Who else are you looking for?"

"I'm supposed to meet up with Gor Coron at some point."

She rested her chin against her hand, thinking. "I think he's in that run down building off of the market square with some other Gorons. You know, the one with the balcony that overlooks the square and has a view of the castle?" she said.

Link nodded. "Yes, I see. How about Ashei, Auru, and Rusl?"

"I only know that Ashei is in the armory with Shad."

"Alright, thanks for the help! I've got to get going now!" Link turned to go to the armory.

Ilia followed him, "Wait, I'll come with! I don't have anything to do right now."

"Ok," he replied.

The two of them entered into the armory, finding Shad with his hands spread over a piece of paper on a table in the center of the room. Ashei was leaned up against the wall, arms crossed over her chest. Shad looked up and said, "Oh good, you're here. I suppose you're here to talk about the battle plan." Link nodded and he began explaining. The piece of paper was an elaborate drawing with many little dots and "x"s and circles, with lines and arrows pointing in every direction, curving around groups of dots, and crossing over one another. Link was completely lost in Shad's descriptions of maneuvers and plans, and what was truly only a couple of minutes seemed like hours. He decided to simply nod every so often to give the illusion that he understood it. Ilia occasionally interject, pointed to various points, eliciting a variety of responses from Shad, some positive, some negative. Shad finally finished, and asked Link, "Now, do you think you have all that."

"No." Link said bluntly.

Shad laughed. "Well, that's why I'm organizing it and you're not. That's fine, all you need to worry about is getting your crew through their ranks and to their headquarters. That's going to be this line right here." He pointed to a group of triangles on the paper, circled it, and drew and arrow leading straight across the page to a large square. "Pretty straight forward. Just push through their ranks and once you're in, take the bad guy out and we can all go home."

Link hardly thought this was all 'straight forward'. He didn't want Shad to feel overconfident, in case something bad happened. He said, "A battle isn't something you can just plan out on paper. It's random, changing, unpredictable. No amount of strategy can prevent chaos when things go sour. We're going to need to plan for a retreat, a place we can fall back to if we start losing."

"That's a good point," said Ashei. "We'll also need a plan for defending Castle Town, perhaps even Hyrule Castle if it comes to it. That is, assuming we have any troops left by the time we're pushed back that far."

Ilia frowned. "That's a dreadful thing to say Ashei!"

"Well EXCUSE ME Ilia! I wasn't aware that war didn't include death and violence!" Ashei tossed her head.

Ilia winced, "Ashei, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's ok Ilia," Shad began. "Ashei's…"

Ashei sighed. "My father was in a war," she said, not looking Ilia in the eye. "He saw many of his friends die right before him. They didn't need to die, but the men of higher ranks had ordered a suicide mission in order to distract the enemy forces. When my father saw his friends killed, it changed him. He was banished from Hyrule because he attacked the man who'd ordered the mission. I had to be raised as an outcast, and only after my father's death was I allowed to enter Hyrule again."

Everyone was silent. Ashei turned her head back to Ilia. "I'm sorry Ilia. I shouldn't have snapped." She walked up to Ilia and laid her hand on Ilia's shoulder. "But you need to be ready for this battle. It isn't going to be pretty. Nobody will think any less of you if you don't want to fight."

"I… I don't know." Ilia's head drooped.

"You don't need to decide now. But whatever you choose, make sure you do what you think is right." Ilia lifted her head back to meet Ashei's gaze. "Nobody can ask more of you than that." Ashei smiled, briefly, but it was a genuine smile. Link was astonished. He couldn't remember Ashei _ever _smiling! She walked over to Shad at the table and shot Link a quick glance. He gave her a silent thanks with a nod. He'd wanted to tell that to Ilia all day, but he couldn't think of a way to do it. Ashei turned back to Shad and began conversing about a plan of retreat and Ilia and Link slipped out the door.

Once outside, Ilia sighed. Link said, "Don't feel bad, Ilia. You didn't know. But Ashei really likes you."

"You really think so?" she asked.

"She just smiled at you. She never smiles."

"Thanks Link…" Ilia walked away.

"Where are you going?" Link called after her.

"To be alone for a bit. I've got some things I need to think about. I'll talk to you later. Besides, you've got stuff to do now."

"Ok… see you later. I guess." Now Link was a little concerned. He hoped she'd be alright. Then he went to see Gor Coron. He entered the shack, but didn't see anybody.

"Hello?" he called out.

"Hello? Who's there?" a voiced answered from somewhere upstairs.

"It's Link. I'm looking for Gor Coron."

The head of a small Goron boy poked its head out from in between the bars of the railing on the floor above. "Oh, hi! Elder Coron isn't here right now. He said he was talking to the Zora prince."

"Oh, ok, thank you! Bye!" Link waved to the boy.

"Anytime! Bye bye!" He waved back.

"Well, that should make things a little easier," Link thought to himself. "I can meet up with both of them at the same time and get that out of the way." Link left the building and ran to the Zora camp outside of town. He found Prince Ralis talking to Gor Coron in the middle of the camp. They stopped their conversation when they saw Link.

"Good morning," Link said, breaking his jog. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"No, not at all, Sir Link." Ralis replied. "What can I, or rather we, do for you?"

"Just a few quick things. Prince Ralis, I see that your men have arrived safely. Will you be ready to mobilize by this evening?"

"Yes Sir, we are at your beck and call."

"Good, then I'll need you to speak to Shad in the armory about his battle strategy at some point. I'd tell you myself, but I'm afraid I got lost about half-way through his explanation." Link shrugged.

"Will do sir." Ralis nodded.

"And Mr. Coron," Link said.

"Yes Link?" The old Goron dipped his head.

"I believe we could use the support of your men. Can you send word to your village to bring capable fighters to assist us?"

"About how many do you think we'll need sir?"

Link honestly didn't know. He tried to sound professional in his answer, "As many as you can spare, as long as you can keep Kakariko defended in your absence."

"I will send word right away." Gor Coron rolled up into a ball to leave, when Link stopped him.

"Hold on Mr. Coron! I need to ask one more thing of you!" Link said.

Gor rolled back to them and stood up. "Oh, my apologies. What else do you need?"

"I'd like for Darbus to come as well. You see, I'll be assembling a strike force in order to take out the enemy's leader, and I think his size and strength will prove invaluable assets in our charge."

"I'll inform him of your request. While he may not want to leave his people, I'm sure I can persuade him."

Link gave him a hard pat on the shoulder, saying, "Thank you, Brother."

Gor gave a deep laugh, returned the pat, and rolled away. Link then turned back to Ralis.

"Prince Ralis, with your permission, I'd like to request the assistance of a few of your men as well for my strike force. Zoras may not be as strong as the Gorons, but their agility and speed will also be helpful. What do you think?"

"I'd be happy to oblige. Did you have any particular warriors in mind?"

Link thought for a moment, and then smiled, remembering the warriors who had saved he and Ilia a few days before. "I'd like to have Mikalu, and his boss" (he couldn't quite put his finger on his name) "from the lake unit assist me. They saved my life when I fell off Hyrule Bridge."

"Of course, I'll send for them immediately." Ralis called out to his men, and a few moments later, two Zoras appeared. Link instantly recognized them both as the soldiers who'd rescued him. Mikalu smiled and ran up to Link, giving him a brief hug.

"Good to see you again Link! Feeling a little less wet, I hope?" Mikalu said cheerfully.

"Quite. How have things been?"

"Not bad, nothing falling from the sky recently. Bublins gave us some trouble that night though."

Link frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that, but listen, I'll need your help for this battle." Link then explained his plan to them, and told them to meet him at Telma's Bar once the Goron reinforcements arrived. They agreed and went back to the other Zoras. Link went back to town to look for Ilia. He had some time to kill before he could begin practicing, so he wanted to check up on her. However, she was nowhere to be found. He ended up looking in Telma's Bar last, but when Telma said she hadn't seen Ilia since this morning, he decided to just wait there until the Gorons arrived.

**. . .**

It was about midafternoon by the time the Gorons arrived and everyone assembled at Telma's Bar. Darbus couldn't fit through the door frame, so they held the meeting outside. Ashei, Auru, Ralin, Rusl, Darbus, and the two Zoras all gathered around Link as he explained his plan. Explaining formations, strategies, and discussing combinations of fighters took several hours' time, and when all was said and done, they felt worn out. Ralin informed Link that there wasn't enough time to practice together before he had to address the troops. Reluctantly, Link dismissed his strike force and went with Ralin to the castle courtyard, where everyone had gathered for the meeting.

From Links' seat at the front, he could start to get a feel for how many troops they had to use. It looked like they had about a dozen Gorons, 30 or so Zoras, and at least 60 Hylian soldiers. Around 100 troops, but unfortunately, the enemy had more. It was easily conceivable for them to be outnumbered 3 to 1, possibly worse. Link didn't like their odds, but he hoped their battle strategy might give them a chance. Shad briefly explained what their formations would look like, and how it would all fit together, but said that the minor details would be told to each group individually by their selected officers. Ralin then motioned for Link to take the stage, and Link's stomach started to churn. He stood up, walked to the front and faced the crowd. He could feel the eyes bearing down on him. _I hate public speaking_ he thought to himself.

He cleared his throat, trying to remember the fragments of lines he'd come up with earlier that day. His hands felt sweaty and sticky, his stomach light and uncomfortable. Finally, he mustered up his courage and spoke. "Hello friends. I've come to tell you about what… about what we might… what we will be facing today. Or tomorrow, perhaps since…" _Come on Link, pull it together!_ He swallowed hard, composing himself. "This army that we are about to face is large, massive even. I'm not going to try to lie to you. This is not a skirmish, something that can be taken lightly. This will be a battle to remember." _Confident, Link. Confident!_ "And it will be remembered because of the bravery that you all will show! Against impossible odds, the soldiers from all across Hyrule gathered together and faced this army of monsters with strength, not weakness! With perseverance, not faltering will! With honor, not cowardliness!" He didn't know where he was drawing this from! He put his fist into the air, shouting now. "This day will be ours! We can never give up, because we fight for our families, friends, our kingdom! No, we are not fighting for our own personal glory, for our own gain, not even for our own lives! Yes, we must prepared to lay down our lives for our land, because what is life if we live under tyranny?" The crowd cheered, a mix of shouts and claps. "We must defeat this evil, and drive it out of this kingdom for good! If you are with me, then I promise that this battle will belong to Hyrule! Now who will stand with me?" The crowd cheered. "Say 'Aye!'" He called out to them.

"Aye!" They shouted.

"Louder!" Link raised his hands high.

"AYE!" The crowd cheered in unison.

"Then ready yourselves, for we march unto these fiends, and we will drive them back into their holes! And there WILL BE PEACE!" The crowd went nuts. Link caught his breath and whipped the sweat off his brow. He turned to Ralin, who gave him a big "thumbs up". The soldiers left to go to their camps with high spirits.

Link approached Ralin, asking, "When will we move out?"

"Hopefully we'll be ready to march onto the battle field by sunset," he answered. "We don't know where there base is, exactly, so it may take us a few hours to be fully ready by the time we find them, probably about as long as it takes them to get set up as well. By the way, that was an excellent speech Link."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be gathering my equipment now." Link went back to Shad's house and gathered his gear. He still had his hook shots, Hylian shield, sword, bow and arrows, and lantern. Midna had assisted him carrying the rest of his items with her magic, which had made things quite easy for him. Now he felt very ill-prepared for the battle, but he would have his friends by his side. He hoped it would be enough.

**. . .**

Link had been walking around the camps for a while, talking to soldiers and trying to pass the time. It was becoming later in the evening, almost twilight. Eventually, he ran into Ilia, practicing her sword techniques on a fighting dummy. He walked up to her, and when she saw him, she stopped, gave a small wave, and caught her breath. "What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing, just practicing for the fight." She motioned towards the dummy.

"Oh…" Link said, disheartened. After Ashei's little speech that she gave, he'd hoped she might have chosen not to fight.

"What do you mean, 'oh'?" Ilia was confused. "I thought you'd be happy. I want to join your strike force."

"Ilia, I can't let you do that. Battles aren't safe!"

"Why else do you think I wanted to join you? I want to help you win, and I can't do anything if you won't let me fight. You told me back in Ordon that you hate feeling useless. Well, I feel the same way."

"But Ilia, fighting in my strike force is probably the most dangerous thing you could be doing. I'm not going to let you-"

"Link, give me your bow," Ilia commanded.

"Wh… what?"

"Just give me the bow and arrows Link," said Ilia, exasperated.

"Ok, if you insist." Link took the bow and quiver off his back and handed them Ilia.

Ilia set the quiver on a table next to them, grabbed an arrow, and readied the bow. She shot at a target about 20 meters away, hitting it dead center. She set the bow onto the table and motioned with her hand to the target.

"Rusl showed me how to make bows by hand a number of years back. I've been practicing shooting a couple times a week ever since."

"Well, that's great and all Ilia, but I still don't think-"

She cut him off again with a small, "Ugh!" and rolled her eyes. She took up the bow again, notched an arrow, and swung around. Off in the distance, a couple of Guays, the small crow-like creatures, were circling around, illuminated by the now setting sun. She fired the arrow, and it soared through the air until it struck one of the birds. It plummeted to the ground, crashing on the plains before disappearing in a black cloud.

Link's mouth hung slightly open. They must have been at least 150 meters away. Link had never made a shot like that. He sighed, turning back to Ilia. "Alright, point taken. I still don't want you to be in the middle of the battle with me, but-"

"Link, c'mon."

"BUT… I do want you in the fight. Do you think you could join the rest of the archers and… I don't know… watch my back?"

Ilia smiled. "Of course. I'll support you the whole way, ok?"

"That's all I can ask of you. Keep the bow for now, and keep practicing."

"I won't let you down!" Ilia said.

"Thanks." He turned to go.

"See you in a while," she called after him.

He smiled to himself and walked away.

**. . .**

Although it was late at night, Link couldn't fall asleep. He was too anxious to settle down. They were supposed to be on guard at all times, waiting for the news from scouts telling them it was time to move out. For a few hours, Link simply sat in his tent, letting his mind wander. Eventually he got up from his bedroll and went out to the practice field. He took his sword and shield and practiced his fighting technique. It'd been a while since he'd been in a real fight, relative to how often he had to use his skills during his adventures. He didn't want to be rusty for whenever the fight began. After about a half hour of practice, Rusl showed up.

"You can't sleep either, I suppose," said Rusl.

Link shook his head. "Got too much on my mind for sleep. Not like it matters anyway. I've gone for days without sleep before, mostly because nowhere was safe."

"I still can't believe that it's really you, Link, the goat herder, that saved Hyrule." Rusl sat down on the grass and patted next to him, inviting Link to join him. As he walked over, Rusl continued, "I can easily remember you as a child. Uli and I raised you like one of our own before we had Colin. Honestly, I think raising you was one of the most important reasons as to why we chose to have children. You were such a good kid."

Link rarely thought about his childhood. It was true, Rusl and Uli had adopted Link shortly after he came to Ordon village. He was only a few years old at the time, lost and alone. He couldn't remember how, but he and his mother had been thrown out of their house, and he lost her while they were out traveling. He never did find out what happened to her. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Because I know that beyond this warrior that you've so quickly become, you haven't change at all. You've always had a strong spirit, never backing down from a challenge. I know that you'll do whatever it takes to win this fight, and nobody can keep you from trying your hardest." Rusl put his hand on Link's shoulder. "You have the strength. All you need to find is the courage."

Link couldn't help feeling conscious about the Triforce mark embedded on the back of his left hand, although nobody he knew seemed to have noticed it. He had been told that he had the Triforce of Courage, but he didn't know what that meant. Ganondorf had used the Triforce of Power to save himself from his execution by the hands of the six sages, and Zelda had used the Triforce of Wisdom to turn Link's ordinary bow in a sacred light bow, but Link didn't know what powers he had. Apparently it protected him partially from the twilight, reverting him to his wolf form instead of destroying his body, like it did to most people. But beyond that he couldn't fully understand its power.

"Thanks for the encouragement Rusl," said Link after a long pause, since he had been lost in thought. He stood up. "Maybe I'll be able to get some sleep now, with my mind a little bit more at ease."

"I'm glad I could help. Rest well." Rusl laid down on the grass with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. Link went back to his tent and allowed himself to relax.

He may have drifted off to sleep, or maybe not, he couldn't tell, but he knew that he wasn't there long before he heard a horn from the other side of camp. He shot up quickly and put on his gear, which at this point consisted of his chainmail armor under his tunic, his sword and shield, and his claw shots. The other soldiers began to rouse themselves, and in a matter of minutes, everyone was assembled in the center of camp. Captain Ralin and Shad stood in the center of the group, and Ralin had a piece of paper in his hands. After reading it, he held it at his side and addressed the crowd.

"We now know of their location, and it is time to move out. Gather your equipment and form into your ranks. We march in 5 minutes."

For the next 5 minutes, people scrambled all over the place. Link went to the position where his strike force was meeting, which was at the front of the formation. Link was the first one there, but everyone else gathered there very quickly. They were all eager to begin. While they hadn't had time enough to practice together, they'd had a little that evening. They were ready, or ready enough, to make it work.

Ralin gave the command and the army began trip to the battle field. It wasn't long before Link could see a fort being constructed in the distance. It was nearly completed, but still not done yet. It was being constructed on the same ground Link had fought Ganondorf on, the area northeast of Castle Town. It was a large, mostly flat area, but there were still a considerable amount of hills. The fort itself was near the Bridge of Eldin, built on the flat, stony area that appeared to be ruins of something else long ago. It was wooden, but the walls were made of long, sturdy logs. The walls at most parts were about 5 meters high, much too big to possibly climb. It seemed to be in a square shape, with towers on each of the four corners and a large gate facing towards them. The Bublin army was already assembled outside, their torches illuminating them. The army of Hyrule's forces gathered a safe distance away, out of the range of their archers, and waited for a signal. Shad, who was commanding the forces from the back of the army, said that they needed time to analyze the layout of the enemy base and their troops before they began. The other side didn't seem eager to begin either; they want to finish construction of their fort. Link took this opportunity to find Ilia before the battle began. He went to the battalion of archers and found her. She rushed over to him, looking scared. Link had to choose his words wisely, since he didn't have much time.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, very nervous."

"Good. That will help keep you on your toes. Remember to pay attention to your surroundings, not just to covering me and my team. If things get tight, move around a little. You can outmaneuver them. Keep a level head and focus on staying safe. Once we're inside the fort, try to help out our troops in whatever way you can."

"Link, please be careful. Don't worry if people expect you to be a hero. Promise me you won't try to do anything out of your league. Please. Just come back safely, ok?"

Link recognized those words. They were almost identical to the last words they'd exchanged before the Bublins had attacked them at the Ordon springs and they were separated. "I'll try, but you need to be safe too." He suddenly remembered the horse call that she'd made for him. He took it off his neck and placed it in her open hands. Her face fell, scared at what he might mean by this. He closed her hands over the small ornament, feeling her tremble. "Listen. I promised your father, and your mother as well, that I would take care of you. If anything goes wrong, if the battle becomes too intense, or if something happens to me-" this brought the first signs of tears to her eyes, "then I need you to use the horse call. Call Epona from camp, ride her back to Ordon and don't look back. I'm not going to let you get hurt out here."

"Don't say that! Nothing is going to happen to you ok? You can't let anything happen! You have to come back!"

"Ilia, promise me that you will take Epona home if you are in danger!"

She was crying now, her breaths short and shallow. "I-I… I p-promise."

Link slid his arms from her hands up past her shoulders and pulled her against him. He searched for something to say, something to do, as she cried into his shoulder. His mind raced. _Say something! Comfort her, say goodbye, encourage her, just do something now!_

_Kiss her._

Before he even had a chance to comprehend the thought that had just crossed his mind, he heard a Zora horn blow nearby. It was _the_ signal. He was out of time. He pulled himself away from her and stepped back. "I'm sorry, I have to go." He was gone before she could respond. He fell in with his strike force and readied himself. All of the others looked to him. He returned their gaze and gave them a nod. "Let's do this." He said.

Another horn blew, this time from the enemy side. The Bublins scrambled into their formations, with hundreds of glowing eyes staring them down. Their boars were screaming a squealing, eager to charge. The archers had their arrows notched, waiting for the Hylian ranks to make their move. Link looked to their fort. Whatever happened in the next few minutes, Link had to make it to through those gates. His army was waiting for his signal to attack. He drew his sword, pointed it up to the sky, and shouted, "Charge!" The soldiers rushed forward, shouting war cries. Link cleared all thoughts from his mind and engaged his fighting mentality. He raised his shield and ran towards the enemy line. His team followed closely, and their army behind them. Arrows flew from the enemy lines, and they were sure to strike some of their men, but any shouts or screams that may have occurred were already drowned out by the sounds of war. Link threw himself at the nearest Bublin, stabbing it through, and the battle erupted.

Link and his companions began forcing their way through the Bublin army. Darbus moved to the front and began swinging and smashing his way through the soldiers. Bublins flew through the air as he brought around his mighty arms. Suddenly, a hail of fire arrows began raining on them, slowing their progress. Darbus turned his stony back on them to shield himself and the others while Auru readied his arm cannon. He pinpointed the archers, measured the distance, loaded a bomb and fired. It exploded on impact, breaking apart the battalion and stopping the volley of arrows.

Ashei and Link worked on keeping their flanks covered. While Link didn't have much time to finish the Bublins off, he was able to damage or wound them enough to keep them away. The Zoras held up the rear with their long spears, keeping a safe distance from the Bublins with their short clubs. Rusl worked with Auru to keep the charging Darbus covered as he cleared the path. Finally, Ralin assisted whenever any of the sides became overwhelmed, which usually ended up being the rear.

Link estimated that it had been about 4 minutes since they'd entered the battle, and the rest of their army was nowhere to be seen. He hoped they were faring well.

**. . .**

Ilia followed the squad or archers up onto a hill where they could better observer the battle. She scanned the armies and quickly saw the light brown Darbus towering over the Bublins. His team was pushing through, but they had a long way to go. Archers were raining arrows onto them, and she notched an arrow. Just then, there was an explosion within the enemy, and the archers were thrown around and staggered. She began picking them off while they were vulnerable, and they were quickly disposed of. Link's team was making headway, and it looked like the Hyrulian army was holding its ground. She started firing into the Bublins to take out as many as she could, when she spotted a group of 4 or 5 mounted Bublins charging into their ranks. The Bublins cleared out of the way, and Ilia saw their destination. They were headed straight for Link's team.

**. . .**

Link heard the sound of a horn, but it wasn't any kind of Hyrulian horn. Then, to the left, he saw the crowds parting, and mounted boars charging towards them. "We've got mounts heading towards us from the left!" he shouted. Darbus left the front side and dug his feet into the ground, holding his arm up. It was the Goron sumo wrestling stance. He planned on taking them all on. Suddenly one of the riders was thrown off his boar, an arrow stuck in his chest. _Ilia_, Link thought. Ashei had her bow, and she took out another one of the riders. At this point, there were three left, and they were far too close to use a bow now. Darbus grabbed the first two boars by their snouts with his hand and started to push back, but then the third rider slammed into him square in the chest. His feet began to slow backwards and he grunted with effort. The two Zoras stuck their spears into the sides of the outermost boars, but that only enraged then. They screamed and squealed, and they pushed Darbus through Link's strike force and out onto the other side. Darbus lost his footing and was dragged, cursing, into the Bublin hordes. They soon lost sight of them.

Link ordered to keep moving forward, but without their mighty battering ram of a Goron, their progress was slowed. Link joined Rusl and Auru in the front, and Ralin took Link's place on the side. Link shoved his way a couple meters in front of his crew, placing himself in the middle of the Bublins, and performed a great spin attack. The Bublins were thrown away, and Link shouted, "Move up!" They sprinted to join him, and he fought them off until they were reassembled. That strategy seemed to work well, and they made progress towards the enemy fort quickly. Suddenly, a group of Bublins charged at the from the side, and Ashei had to fall back. The two Zoras were cut off from the rest of the group, and they fought fiercely to rejoin them. Bublins poured into the gap between them, making it harder and harder for them to gain ground. Soon they lost sight of them.

It seemed that the Bublins' strategy was to separate them and overwhelm them after they had them isolated. Link, between great spin attacks, shouted, "Don't let them separate us! Close the gaps and keep tight! We can still get through this!" He continued using spin attacks to clear the way, with the walls of the fort coming nearing every minute. Just then, archers atop the walls began raining arrows onto them. Link and Ralin did their best to shield themselves from the arrows, and they held their position until Ilia and the rest of the archers could give them support. After some time, none of the Bublin archers had fallen, and it became clear that it was too far out of range for the Hyrulian archers.

Auru took his bomb launcher off of his back, then shouted to the crew, "I'm going to try to take them out! Ashei, see if you can give me cover fire!" Ashei took out her bow and began shooting at the Bublins, some of which ducked and backed away from the edge to avoid the arrows. Auru stepped out from behind Link and Ralin and readied his launcher to fire. He suddenly shouted in pain, dropping the launcher. Link turned around to see an arrow embedded into his shoulder. Before either of them could react, a second arrow stuck him in the stomach. He collapsed onto his knees, his arms clutched around the shaft in his gut. Ashei quickly picked up the launcher, aimed, and fired. The Bublin archers on the wall were killed, knocked off, or frightened away. Link and Rusl covered Ashei and Auru as Ashei laid the now unconscious Auru on his back.

Ashei shouted to the rest of them, "Keep moving! Auru can't be carried in this condition! I'll stay here and guard him until you can end the battle!"

"That's foolish, Ashei," said Rusl. "You can't possibly last that long by yourself!"

"And the longer we wait, the more of our soldiers die! If we die, it's only two of us, but every minute we wait here could mean dozens of other soldiers. Just go!" She stood up, readying herself. "I'll be fine! Go, you guys!" Link nodded and pressed on.

It was down to just three of them. Link, Ralin, and Rusl were all skilled fighters, but against a seemingly endless amount of Bublins, the odds didn't look good. Still, they moved closer and closer to the wooden walls. They forced themselves in front of the gate and started clearing away the Bublins. Once they had some room to breathe, Link turned his attention towards the gatehouse. "How are we going to get inside?"

Immediately after he spoke, the gates began opening outwards, and a horde of 10 Bublins came charging at them. Link gripped his sword with both hands, pulled it back to his chest, and readied himself. As soon as the horde was in range, he leapt into the air and brought his sword down in the middle of it. The shockwave that followed knocked the entire horde onto the ground, and Link, Ralin, and Rusl dispatched of them before they could recover. They turned their attention to inside the still open gate, where King Bublin stood, his oversized battle-axe in hand. He stepped towards them, a cruel grin on his face.

"It was foolish of you to come here, Link," King Bublin boomed. "You and your friends are doomed."

"Is that so?" Link scoffed. "What makes you so sure? I've beaten you four times already! What makes you think I can't do it again?"

"I'm not the one you have to worry about!" King Bublin laughed.

"In that case," Rusl stepped forward. "I'll deal with you myself. I have a score to settle."

"And who is this?" King Bublin paused, squinting at Rusl. "Oh yes, I remember you. You must be that farm hand I beat to a pulp in the Ordon province."

Rusl snarled. "I'll get you for what you did to my friends and family! You kidnapped my son, and while Link may have showed you mercy, I won't be so kind!"

"Ha ha ha! Well, it seems I have a challenger! Fine, if death is your wish, than I will humor you." King Bublin turned to Link. "You and your friend may pass. Just know that you will be sealing your fate if you do."

Link didn't respond as he and Ralin walked through the gate. He didn't know what awaited him, but he was ready. The gates closed with a loud shudder behind them, and Ralin turned around, trying to open it again.

"It won't move!" he stated.

"I have a feeling we won't need to." Link glanced around the inside of the fort. It was surprisingly empty. The only thing other than the walls was a tent in the center. It was a dark yellow tent, with the entrance covered by a draped cloth.

Ralin walked up to Link's side. Link just stood there. "Link, what are you doing?"

"Waiting," he replied.

"What for? Let's just go in and get him!"

"He'll come out."

Ralin took out a round black ball. He struck it with his sword and it burst into flames. He threw it at the tent and said, "I'm not waiting around. There's a battle going on. Now he'll _have_ to come out."

Link shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to piss this guy off. He had heard what he sounded like angry, and he didn't want to have to fight him angry!

The tent burst into flames. The entire cloth was soon covered in orange tongues, licking away at the cool night air. A shockwave broke out from the tent, throwing burning cloth in all directions. When the dust began to settle, Link saw a figure emerge. He was tall, with black skin and a pale face. He wore black robes, accented by blue symbols and designs. He had an unusually long neck, with orange, vibrant eyes. His black boots thudded as he walked away from the wreckage. His face was composed, expressionless, until he got a good look at Link and Ralin. He smiled menacingly, and laughed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Well, isn't this a surprise!" the figure said, after he stopped laughing. His voice sent shivers up Link's spine, just as it had done before. Yes, Link was sure that this was the man they were looking for. "I search all over Hyrule for you, and you deliver yourself right to my doorstep!" He chuckled. "How convenient. It amazes me that you managed to conceal yourselves in my camp long enough to hear our plans. But what amazes me even more is that you would have the gall… the stupidity, to come face me anyway." He squinted slightly and smirked. "How fascinating."

Ralin spoke. "Who, or rather what, are you?"

"Did I address you, worm?" The creature shot a glare at Ralin. When Ralin didn't immediately react, he spoke again. "I did not. But if you must know, my name is Krow."

"You still haven't told me _what_ you are."

Krow raised his voice. "Have your people completely forgot about us? Has it been so long that you have no recollection about your own history, the blood on your hands? My people have suffered exile from Hyrule for _centuries_, and it seems that we have been erased from time itself!"

Link stared, eyes half shut, brow creased.

Ralin clenched his fist and shouted, "You know what, I don't care what you are anymore! Link, let's dice this guy!"

Link remained still.

Krow laughed once again. "To think you stand a chance. How cute."

"C'mon Link, what are you waiting for?" Ralin shook his shoulder.

Finally, Link spoke. His voice was unwavering and confident. "What have you done with Midna?"

Krow froze. For the first time, his expression turned to one of surprise, perhaps shock. He stood, motionless, before he composed himself again. "Well, you're just full of tricks, aren't you? How did you come to know about my interactions with the Twilight Princess? Oh no, wait, don't tell me. She warned you of my presence while she hid in her chambers like a coward."

Link glared. "I asked, 'What have you done with Midna?'!"

"All in due time, dear child. I will explain myself forthright. I imagine that you already know that I am a descendant of the Interlopers, a 'Twili', as your people calls us. I've managed to create a temporary portal between the world of light and the world of twilight, as well as protect myself from the harmful rays of the sun, using ancient tools of sorcery. Simply put, I've come to snuff out the Hylian royal family for sealing my tribe away, rule over both the Twilight Realm and the world of Light, and avenge the death of my brother. I began by dealing with that wretched girl, Midna, who betrayed her people and sought refuge with people of the light. Now, all I need do is kill you, squelch this so called 'army' of yours, defeat Princess Zelda, and then, the Twili will be released from their prison, and we will obtain the power of the Triforce at last!"

Link's eyes opened wide. "You mean, you're Zant's _brother_?!"

Krow chuckled. "Yes, I was born second to that coward. As much as I hated him for his arrogance, I find it necessary to repay his death in blood, as well as complete his vision. Well, really, it was my vision…" He smiled smugly and began pacing. "I convinced him to use his position of influence in the council to gain control, and force his way into power. My plan was to manipulate him, like a puppet, and control the Twili from the shadows, leaving him to deal with the bureaucracy, while I could continue my study of magic. Little did I know that the fool would fail to be made king, let alone be granted power by one of your world. And so it was at that point that I knew fate had cheated me, left me to suffer for HIS failures, while he reaped the rewards of MY work."

Ralin interjected, "Well, I don't really understand everything you're saying, but it sounds like crazy must run in the family, because you sound just like him!"

Krow's calm demeanor vanished instantaneously, dissolving into pure rage. He stamped his foot into the ground, clenched his fists, and flung his head to face Ralin. His voice grew in strength, becoming a little more high-pitched, and he screamed, "How _dare_ you compare me to that fool! He had no grasp of what it meant to rule out tribe, let alone an entire kingdom! He was nothing compared to me! I should have been the ruler! I am more intelligent, skilled, and stronger than he ever was!" He took a step towards Link and Ralin, and a toothy grin spread across his face, with hate burning in his eyes. "He wormed and weaseled his way around his problems. He would use underhanded tactics to scare people in submission, to get what he wanted! I on the other hand-" He lifted his arm into the air, and a long, black spear seemed to grow out of nothing and form in his hand. Link observed that he had seen Midna perform similar acts of magic. Krow brought the spear back, and then threw it at Link, propelling it through the air at incredible speed.

Link quickly reacted, crouching down and moving his shield in front of him to protect himself, but as the spear flew towards him, he realized that it was not headed towards him, but directly at Ralin, who was just to the side of him. He tried to warn him, but by the time he'd opened his mouth, the spear had already passed him. He watched as it plunged into Ralin's chest, right through his heart. Ralin gasped weakly and fell to the ground, collapsing on his side.

"- am _straight_ to the _point_!" Krow finished. He laughed at his own pun, raising his hands in the air. He continued cackling as Link rushed over to Ralin, setting down his sword and taking off Ralin's helmet.

"Ralin, stay with me, we'll get you…" Link trailed off as Ralin weakly raised his hand and placed it onto Link's shoulder.

"I'm s-sorry… L-Link… I tri-ied." Ralin whispered. He let out his final breath and closed his eyes.

Link crouched there, mouth agape, eyes wide, his hand trembling over Ralin's dead body. He clenched his fist, closed his eyes, and drew in a deep breath. He then picked up his sword and stood up, turning only his head to Krow. He swallowed hard and said with a trembling voice, "Ralin was wrong. You're not crazy, you're just _sick_!"

This released even more laughter from Krow. "Oh, this is going to be fun! I will enjoy hearing you scream, Boy!"

Link readied himself, but before they could begin, Link heard the sound of a horn carried over the air. Link paused to listen, and he couldn't recognize its origin. After another moment, he heard a faint rumbling, like hundreds of feet pounding against the ground.

"Ah, yes, just in time!" said Krow.

"What is that noise?" Link asked.

Krow answered with a smile. "That, dear boy, is the sound of doom for your friends. My army's reinforcements from the Gerudo Desert have arrived, and no matter how Hyrulian army has been fairing thus far, these new troops will seal their fate!"

Link gulped as a shiver ran down his spine. It certainly sounded like a lot of soldiers. Whatever he had to do in order to beat this guy, he had to start soon. Link raised his sword, panned his shield out in front of him, and charged. He lunged at Krow and took a swing, who nimbly jumped backwards to evade.

"Hmm, eager, aren't we?" He laughed and materialized another spear. Link used a jump attack, which was blocked by the spear, and Krow countered with a swing from the blunt end of the spear. Link deflected it with his shield and began assaulting him with a flurry of slashes, all of which were dodged or blocked. Link tried rolling around Krow to get behind his defenses, but just as he was about to leap up and attack, Krow suddenly disappeared. Link looked frantically around and saw Krow standing behind him, his spear raised above his head. Krow went on the offensive, bringing down the spear onto Link, who hid behind his shield, and when the blow was blocked, drove the spear again and again downwards, trying to break through. When this didn't work, Krow brought his massive boot up and kicked Link from below. Link flew off the ground and landed on his back with a grunt.

"Ok, so he's fast," Link said to himself as he caught his breath. "But I've dealt with fast before." Link charged again, only this time feinting a swing and instead brought his sword upwards, knocking Krow off-balance and forcing his spear out of the way. Link took the opportunity and slashed at Krow's torso, finishing his assault with a spin attack. Krow skidded backwards and stood upright, showing no signs of injury.

"Ha ha ha! Is that your best, Hero? I'd hardly say that left a scratch!" Krow teased.

"We'll see about that!" Link yelled as he charged in again. Krow smirked and leapt into the air, flipping over Link and landing behind him, where he then attacked Link with the spear. Link turned around, blocking the stabs while moving backwards, trying to keep his footing as he slowed his momentum. He swung his sword down onto the spear's shaft as Krow thrusted again, driving the point into the ground. He then attacked wildly, trying to do as much damage as possible, but Krow somehow deflected his attacks with his forearms. With each swing, he heard a *ting* as Krow pushed the sword away from his body, as he would deflect a punch. Krow knocked Link's shield out of the way and began punching him in the face and chest. Each blow sent Link stumbling backwards without enough time to recover before the next hit. Soon Link lost his footing and fell to the ground, where Krow kicked him in the ribs repeatedly. Link managed to get his shield up to defend himself, and then Krow reached down with both hands and picked up Link by the tunic and tossed him over his head. Link landed with a hard thud and groaned. He grunted and got up to his hands and knees, panting for breath. He looked up to see Krow slowly striding towards him, that devilish grin on his face and the spear once again in his hand. Link was losing this fight, and if he didn't think of something soon, he was going to be put down permanently!

**. . .**

Ilia was locked in the heat of the battle, struggling to keep the Bublin forces from advancing. The Hyrulian army was stuck in a deadlock with the Bublins, and they were barely holding formation as they were slowly surrounded by the green monsters. She had seen Link enter into the fort a few minutes ago, accompanied only by Captain Ralin, but she'd been unable to assist them at that range. Now her attention was focused on Ashei, who was fiercely battling to keep the wounded Auru protected. She shot as many of the Bublins around Ashei as she could, lessening the numbers she had to overcome by whatever amount she could. Though they cut down many Bublins, there always seemed to be two to take its place.

Just then she heard a horn off in the distance, from the west. Ilia turned towards the direction of the horn and gasped. Dozens of mounted Bublins were charging towards the battle, and the ground began to rumble and shake from the pounding of the oversized boars they rode. Inexplicably, a cold shiver ran down her spine. She whistled loudly with her fingers to get the attention of the other soldiers and shouted, "Look to the West! Bublin reinforcements!"

The Hyrulian army scrambled to prepare themselves for the charge, but they weren't given enough time. The boars plowed through them, knocking over soldiers and even tossing some of them in the air. Their formations were broken and scattered, and they began losing ground. Charge after charge, these new Bublin soldiers devastated their forces, some of them even charging over Ilia's hill. The battle's tide was quickly turning, and Ilia was sure that they wouldn't be able to turn it back again.

Thinking quickly, she took out the horse call and whistled for Epona. In a few moments, Epona charged through both armies from the Hyrulian camp and stopped in front of Ilia, shaking her mane. Ilia mounted her saddle and turned her south, towards Ordon Province, but paused before she set Epona off. She held the horse call in her hand, the symbol of her friendship with Link, and clenched her fist around it. She couldn't bring herself to flee, not knowing if Link would live or die to return to her. She closed her eyes and tried to force herself to give the command, but with each moment it became harder. She opened her eyes again to see Epona looking at her, her big black eye staring sympathetically, as though she knew what was going through her head.

Ilia's head drooped and a tear ran down her face. "I'm sorry Link…" she whispered, remembering her promise to leave. "But that's something I can't do!" she cried out and yanked on Epona's reins, turning her toward the fort. She put the horse call around her neck and drew her sword. "Let's go, Epona!" she commanded, and Epona neighed loudly, lifting herself up onto her hind legs, before galloping down the hill and into the battle.

Ilia steered Epona around, slashing at Bublin heads along the way. Epona leaped over fallen boars and rammed through the enemy ranks, headed straight towards the wooden fort. Ilia spotted a mounted Bublin riding through the crowd towards her, and she took out Link's bow. She couldn't get a clear shot over the heads of the Bublins, so she steadily stood up, balancing on Epona's back. While poised on Epona, she drew an arrow and fired. It knocked the Bublin clean off the back of the boar, but the dumb beast kept charging. She notched three arrows onto the bow string and let them fly. They all struck the boar square in the snout, and with a loud, deep squeal, it tumbled to the ground. She once again turned her attention back on the fort, which was nearing quickly.

She saw a small clearing in the soldiers, apart from two figures in the middle, right outside the gates. One of them was very large and green, and Ilia recognized it as King Bublin himself, engaged in one-on-one combat with someone else. As she rode closer, she saw that it was Rusl who was fighting him, and there was a semicircle of Bublins watching them from a distance. Rusl was dodging away from King Bublin's massive axe and trying to get in close enough to strike.

Once Ilia was closer still, she realized that the wall was far too big for her to climb over, but it might not be too big for her to _vault_ over. She again stood up on Epona's back and carefully steered her towards King Bublin, who had yet to notice them. She fired an arrow at his head, and it struck him, staggering him. She shot him again and again, pushing him closer and to the wall. She and Epona broke out from the crowd of onlookers and grabbed Epona's reins. Epona leapt into the air, landing on King Bublin's head, while Ilia stepping onto the crown of Epona's head. All at once, Epona jumped off of the stunned King Bublin, flung her head upwards, and Ilia catapulted herself off of Epona, sending her flying up and over the wall. She landed on the platform on the other side and looked back over the wall. Epona had landed and ran around into the open, standing on her hind legs and waving her front ones in the air, whinnying. Rusl was staring, shocked at what he just saw, but then nodded at her and took the opportunity to attack the dazed King Bublin. Ilia then turned her attention to the inside of the fort, where she saw Link being brutalized by a tall, dark creature. The creature was kicking Link into the ground, and just when Link started to block him and get back up, the dark monster lifted him up in the air and threw him off to the side. Ilia hopped down from the wall, breaking her fall with a roll, and drew an arrow. The creature had picked up a spear and was walking towards Link, who was struggling to stand back up. She fired her bow, hitting her target in the shoulder. It must have caught him off guard, as he staggered at the blow, tripping over a pile of rubble and falling to the ground. She immediately ran over to Link, helping him stand up. He didn't recognize what was happening until she spoke.

"Link! Are you ok?" she cried.

Link shook his head clear and his eyes opened wide when he saw her. "Ilia! Wha… what are you _doing_ here? I told you to stay away! This man is too dangerous; you have to get out of here!"

"He's beating you to a pulp! I've come here to help," she explained.

Just then, their adversary climbed onto his feet and growled in anger. "Curse this stupid tent," he said as he sent a blast of magic out of his hand, burning its remains, which he had tripped over, "curse this arrow," he said as he broke off the arrow, where it disintegrated into black dust in his hand, "and curse you, light maiden!" he said as he glared at Ilia.

"My name is _Ilia_," she said, sternly.

"Well then, you may call me Krow, and I think I'll strangle you and burn your frail little body for what your insolence!" Krow shouted.

Ilia gulped. Link was right, this man _was_ terrifying! She turned back to Link, who was now standing up again. His face was clenched in pain, but he held his sword and shield firm. "We can do this together, Link!" she said.

"I sure hope so, Ilia! Just make sure you don't let him get close to you! I'll try to cover you as best I can, just keep hitting him with arrows!" Link rushed forward and engaged Krow. They weaved around each other, swinging and deflecting each other's blows, making it hard for Ilia to get a clear shot. She saw her opportunity and fired. The arrow struck Krow's thigh, giving Link an opportunity to attack. He landed a flurry of attacks and knocked Krow off his feet. Link tried to follow up with an ending blow, but Krow quickly rolled out of the way causing Link's sword to plunge into the ground. Krow kicked Link away from his sword and then rushed at Ilia, anger burning in his eyes. Ilia fired another arrow, but he dodged and advanced further. Ilia ran, trying to outpace him, but he was too fast. He caught up to her and took a swing, hitting her back and sending her tumbling across the ground. She rolled onto her feet and winced in pain as Krow set up for another swing. Suddenly, Link darted in front of her and tackled Krow, wrestling with him and bringing his sword up to slice him, but Krow squirmed out of Link's grip and kicked him off. Link regained his footing next to Ilia and panted, out of breath.

"Well, we seem to be making some progress, perhaps," Ilia offered.

Link shook his head, "No, it isn't slowing him down at all! My sword is completely ineffective against him, and your arrows only seem to be staggering him!"

"Then what do we do?"

Link closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure. If I can get him stunned long enough, I might be able to try a help splitter. It's risky, but it just might do something."

Krow stood up, his fists clenched and his pale face turned red with anger. His eyes burned wildly, and his nostrils were flared up. "You two are more trouble than you are worth. I think it's time to end this little game," he said, raising his right hand, in which formed a ball of red energy. He threw it at them, and Ilia jumped out of the way, but Link stood his ground. He bashed the energy ball with his shield, sending it back to Krow, who was caught off guard. He threw himself out of the way while Link took this opportunity to rush in and attack, and the two of them once again started dueling. After a brief skirmish, Krow knocked Link to the ground, but Link trusted his sword into the dirt, and as Krow charged towards him, he flung his sword up, spraying dirt and sand into Krow's eyes. He screeched in anger and began swinging one hand blindly while trying to clean the dirt out with the other. Link performed a shield bash, knocking Krow backwards, and leapt into the air over his head, trying to pull off a devastating helm splitter attack, but Krow's flailing hand caught Link's extended arm and held fast. He slammed Link into the ground, then yanked him up over his head and slammed him on the other side. He then tossed Link over his back, and began whipping his eyes, but Ilia shot an arrow directed into his head. Although not mortally injured, it did seem to have a damaging effect. Krow screamed in pain as Ilia rushed over to Link, who hadn't been able to stand up. He was holding the shoulder of his sword arm with his opposite arm, his teeth clenched in pain and his eyes shut tight.

"Link, are you going to be ok?" Ilia asked worriedly as she rushed to his side.

Link breathed in through his teeth and gasped out, "I don't think so! He must have dislocated my arm, and now I can't use it at all! You're going to have to help me get it back in its socket!"

"I'll try," she said and lightly gripped his forearm with both hands. "Just tell me when."

"This is going to hurt," he muttered before taking a deep breath. "Ok, NOW!" They both pushed as hard as they could, producing a muffled *click*. Link let out a powerful yell as he clenched his arm in pain, then collapsing to his hands and knees as he panted hard. "It's in!" he said as picked up his sword off the ground. He winced. "But it's not good…" he added.

Krow shouted at them, apparently recovered, "I'm through with this nonsense!" He suddenly disappeared, and both Link and Ilia lost sight of him. A sudden explosion between them threw them apart, and Ilia let out a cry as she landed on her side. She lifted her eyes to see Krow's feet a few inches in front of her head. She gasped and tried to move away, but Krow caught her and lifted her up in the air. He brought her up to eye level with him and smiled. "Link may be difficult to put down, but I can get you out of the way much easier." He wound up and threw her against the fortress wall, and she was overwhelmed with pain. She tried to move but her muscles wouldn't respond. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she desperately tried to recover, but she just lay there, helpless. All she could do now was watch as Link took on this monster alone.

**. . .**

"Ilia, no!" Link said as he saw her flung into the wooden barricade. He screamed in anger and flung himself at Krow. He countered and swept Link's legs out from under him. Link rolled backwards and put up his shield, defending himself from a flurry of punches. He strafed back and forth, keeping himself covered as he looked for an opening. Krow lunged and Link rolled to the side, bringing his sword down onto Krow. It made contact, but Krow wasn't slowed at all. Link's momentum from the swing carried him through, and Krow punched him hard in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of him and he fell to the ground. Krow smacked Link with the backside of his hand and flipped him onto his back. Holding him down with one foot, Krow kicked Link's sword away from him with the other.

Krow leaned down, putting all of his weight onto Link's chest. Link struggled to free himself, but he couldn't get any leverage, and instead only amused Krow with his squirming. "Do you know why you've been unable to hurt me thus far?" asked Krow. "To put it simply, I am protected by a magical barrier. I spent years developing the spells to protect myself from physical attacks. The force of blows may still push me back, but you blade will never reach my flesh. The only reason you still live is because of this shield of yours." Krow moved his other leg up to his shield arm and grinned. "Let's change that, shall we?"

Link realized what was about to happen, but he couldn't do anything about it! He tried with all his might to push Krow off, but he only laughed as he raised his boot. He stomped on Link's forearm, smashing it between his boot and his hardened shield. Link grunted in pain, but Krow wasn't done. He stomped it again, and Link felt his bones beginning to give way. With one final push, he grinded his heel down, fracturing Link's forearm. Link screamed at the top of his lungs, overwhelmed by waves of pain until his breath was expended. Krow finally released him and strode away, pleased with himself. Link looked over at his arm and saw his broken arm, lumpy and bloody where the bones had shattered. He weakly rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself up with his good arm, if you could call it good after it was relocated. He stumbled over to his sword and picked it up, once again turning to face his opponent.

Krow frowned and shook his head. "You just don't know when to give up do you? You're not a boy, you're just a wild animal, a beast, refusing to give in to death."

Link laughed a little at the irony of Krow's comment, which confused him even more.

"Is something… funny?" Krow's eyes narrowed.

"No, it's just, when you call me a beast… he he he… never mind." Link managed to put on a smile.

"Well, beast or not, it's time to put you down, and I think I have just the thing." Krow held out his hand and a sword materialized in the same manner as the spears. It was black, with glowing blue Twilit writing on the blade. "This sword is made from a special material, found only in the Twilight Realm. I'm sure you're familiar what happens when a creature of light enters its alternate plain?"

Link's mind flashed to the images of bodiless souls, wandering around Castle Town, unaware that they had been cursed by Zant's magic.

"Their bodies are destroyed, leaving only their helpless souls to be tortured for eternity, lost in a world of darkness and fear. That is the fate that I will sentence you to, as well as your friends." Krow nonchalantly flicked his blade around as he approached Link, who stood his ground firm. His shield hung limply at his side, useless, but he held out his sword in front of him, ready to fight. Unfortunately, Link had little experience defending with a sword. He swung at Krow, trying to disengage his grip on his sword, but Krow parried and stabbed at Link. He managed to deflect the blow and hopped to the side, attacking Krow's flank, but Krow saw it coming and flick Link's blade away. Krow twisted his sword around Link's twirling it until he caught the hilt with the tip of his blade and threw Link's sword out of his hand. Before Link could pull back, Krow lunged, stabbing Link in the side. The wound burned like fire, and Link fell to his knees, clutching at the cut. He fell onto his hands, his mind clouding.

"I'll say nothing more to you. Die slowly, knowing that your suffering will be without end." Krow turned his back on him and walked towards Ilia. "And now for the girl."

A familiar sensation began crawling up Link's spine, his hairs standing on end. The Triforce symbol on the back of his hand glowed brightly, and his body began its transformation. Link had reverted to his wolf form. This was something he could use to his advantage as a sacred beast. He growled and rushed towards Krow.

Krow's head flicked around, startled by the noise. "What's this!?" he cried.

Link flung himself at Krow, who screamed and pulled away. Link bit down on Krow's arm, tearing through his robe. Krow shrieked and tried to pull away, but Link held fast, shaking his head and pulling at his arm. He then let go, and Krow fell on his back, dropping the sword. Link pounced on him and held him down while snapping at his long neck. Krow desperately held Link's powerful jaws away from his head, pushing back with both arms, his eyes wide with fear. Krow rolled them over and pushed Link off, who landed nimbly beside the still immobile Ilia.

"Link, is it really you?" she asked in disbelief.

He turned and smiled, nodding his head. She softly gasped, not knowing what to think. Link turned back to Krow, who was gripping his wounded arm. Red blood was dripping out from his sleeve and onto the ground.

"What… what is this?" Krow gasped. "What have you done? What are you!?"

Link growled and put his weight on his hind legs, ready to charge once again.

"It doesn't matter what you've become. My blade may not have destroyed your body as I had planned, but I can still use it to cut your throat!" Krow lifted his hand outwards and his sword magically flew to it. Link charged, but sprinted around to Krow's backside. This sudden change of pace in the battle threw Krow off. He couldn't follow Link's quick and sporadic movements, missing with every swing as Link dodged and rolled. Link swiped at his heels, clawed his back, and snapped at him viciously. Krow spun his sword around. Link, instead of dodging it, grabbed it between his teeth, pulling at it like a dog at a stick. Krow placed both hands on the hilt, trying to yank it out of his grasp, but Link wouldn't let go, even as he slid across the ground. "Let go - you – stupid – WOLF!" Link bit down harder and growled and the material of the blade began to crack. "Give it back! You're going to-" the two of them flew apart, each with half the sword in their possession. Link dropped his chunk, smiling.

"No!" Krow cried. "If the blade is broken, its magic will-" He was cut off once again as the sword burst into pieces, dissolving into the air, like the creatures of the Twilight when they were defeated.

Link felt his feral instincts leaving him as he transformed back into his Hylian form. He stood upright, although his shield still hung at his side. "You overlooked one thing Krow," Link said. "I am the barer of the Triforce of Courage! I am protected from the magic of the Twilight Realm, so my body cannot be destroyed. And unlike my sword, my wolf form was able to wound you, since it isn't a weapon, but instead a sacred beast."

"That's absurd!" Krow yelled. "You'll pay for the blood of mine you've spilt, tenfold! You're not even in your wolf form anymore, so you're just as helpless as you were before!"

Link frowned. He'd kind of overlooked that detail.

"But now, I'm done playing games. I'm through toying with you." Krow lifted his arm once again, firing another red ball of energy at Link's feet. Link threw himself out of the way as the explosion tore up the ground he was standing on a moment before. Ball after ball was hurdled towards him, and he struggled in his weakened state to stay ahead of them. He couldn't get anywhere near Krow to try to stop him. It was only a matter of time before one found its target. Suddenly, Krow stopped. "Well, if you're going to play cat and mouse, I think I'll just have to cheat." Krow leveled his arm towards Ilia, who was just starting to get to her knees. Krow laughed and threw a ball at her. Link, without thinking, threw himself in front of the ball. It collided with his chest, exploding and throwing him against the wall. He gripped his stomach and let out a moan while Krow laughed.

"Link!" cried Ilia. She dragged herself to his side, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Isn't this just touching?" laughed Krow. "Utterly futile and pointless, but a tear jerker nonetheless! You do realize that you've only brought yourself more pain, delaying the inevitable? Now then, where was I?" He raised his hand to throw another ball, but then stopped for a moment. He grinned then put his hand back down. "No, I think I'll have a little more fun first! I've disappointed myself that I haven't been able to break you completely, Link. Let's see just how far we have to go!" He laughed to himself and strode over to Link and Ilia. Ilia pulled herself up and stood in front of Link, her arms shakily stretched out in front of him. Krow howled in laughter. "You simply don't give up, do you? First he fights to save you, and now you try to return the favor, all for nothing!" He snatched up Ilia by the neck and lifted her into the air with ease. "I guess it's your turn again, Link! Come save your friend!" He walked to the center of the fort with Ilia feebly clutching at his hand, trying to free herself. She had just enough strength to keep the blood flowing to her head, but it was getting harder to breath with every moment.

Link grunted and slowly lifted himself up. He winced as he took a step forward, falling to one knee. He stuck his sword in the ground bracing himself against it and pushed himself onto his feet again. He then picked up the sword and hobbled towards Krow.

"Look at how hard he's trying!" he said, half to himself, half to Ilia. "Your stubborn attitude is going to get you into trouble one day." He gave Ilia a quick shake, producing a weak scream. "You'd better hurry up though, I'm not sure how much longer she'll last."

Link was bursting with anger, but he was too busy focused on the pain. Each step sent shockwaves of ridged torture through his limbs, and his wounds throbbed. But still, he pressed on. He knew it was hopeless, but what else could he do? He stopped about 2 meters away from Krow, then lunged with his sword. He barely even reached his feat, and Krow batted him away like a fly. Link landed on his stomach and grunted, gritting his teeth. He tried to stand up again, but Krow put his foot firmly in the center of Link's back, holding him down.

"Too bad, I guess it wasn't enough," Krow chuckled. He dug his heel down, crushing Link against the ground. Link couldn't even breath, let alone push back. The pressure built up, and soon something was bound to give way. Link could feel his ribs caving in, on the brink of breaking, but he was powerless. All his strength was gone. His arms went limp, completely spent. Link was defeated, and he shut his eyes, waiting for Krow to finish him, but naturally, he wasn't done yet.

"Ah, he finally sees the truth. Boy, you lost this battle when you decided to take me on. But death is too easy of a punishment for you. No, I think I'll make you sit through this girl's suffering first!" With that, he tightened his grip around Ilia's neck, and she wailed in pain, tears running down her face.

In desperation, she cried out, "Link! Please! Help me!"

"Yes, Link, help me! Help me!" Krow mocked, laughing maniacally. He pushed his foot down even harder. "Hear her scream, boy! Let it be the last thing you _ever_ hear!"

Link mustered up whatever he had left and pushed up, but of course it was useless. He fought for his breath, struggling to maintain consciousness. He shouted, "Il- Ilia! NO!" Suddenly, the Triforce symbol on Link's hand glowed again, and Link's mind was clouded over.

**. . .**

Link opened his eyes. Everything was bright. The ground was white and the air was filled with a thick fog. Link stood up and realized that his wounds were gone. He looked down at his body. His clothes weren't torn or burned. He whispered out loud, to himself, "Am I… dead?"

A voice behind him answered. "No. Don't you recognize this place?" Link spun around to see the familiar shade standing before him. "Welcome back," he said plainly.

Link was confused. "But, how? Why have you brought me here? I should be back there, fighting Krow!"

"Link, have you not yet figured out what this place is? This is not an alternate world, where time flows naturally. This is within your own mind, the very reality within your soul. Time is frozen to the outside world while you are here."

"I still don't understand. You've never fully explained who you are."

The shade sighed. "There is a time for everything, I suppose. I am not from this time. I am from an age long past, where I fought Ganon the same as you." Link's eyes opened wide. "Yes, I am the Hero of Time, or rather, what's left of him." The shade turned to face the horizon.

"What happened to you?"

"I… I grew bitter in my days. After I saved Hyrule, I was sent back in time to warn Princess Zelda of the threat of Ganon, so he could never take over Hyrule. After he was stopped, all of my skills, my talents, were never used. I wanted to be helpful. Instead I felt… useless." This struck a chord with Link. "My soul was never truly at rest. So I waited for another hero of my likeness to rise up, so I could pass on my skills to him. That is why I trained you."

"I think I understand. But why have you brought me back again?"

"Because there is one more thing I have to teach you. During my own journey, I was not able to discover the true potential of our shared gift, the Triforce of Courage. You've seen the abilities of the other bearers of the Triforce for yourself. Ganondorf was able to give himself incredible strength and heal his mortal injuries. Zelda was able to turn ordinary arrows and a bow into light arrows and a sacred weapon to repel evil. Both of these abilities are available to you."

"But how?"

"Ever since the beginning of your journey, you've had an exceptionally strong connection to the Triforce of Courage. Such a connection has not existed since the first Hero. Unknowingly, you used its power to save you from the Twilight, without any training, meditation or practice. You then used this ability to your advantage to defeat Zant, Ganondorf, and many others throughout your journey. When you are pushed to your limits, you awaken this power within yourself. In fact, it awakened the moment you were sent here. When you return, you will be able to experience the true power the Goddesses granted us."

"But… how will I know what to do?"

"There is nothing to know. The Triforce grants the wielder their greatest desire. You will decide how you wield that power."

Link looked down at his feet, trying to wrap his mind around what that meant. He decided that whatever it took, he was going to defeat Krow. He was going to save Ilia, and all of his friends. "Then I'm ready," he said.

"Good. Know that my knowledge is always at your disposal. Until next we meet, Hero." The shade disappeared, and the whiteness faded into dark.

Link awoke beneath Krow's foot, but he instantly felt new strength entering his body. He lifted his hands up as far as he could get them, then slammed them into the ground, shoving himself up to his knees. A blast of yellow energy shot out in all directions from him, and Krow was thrown backwards, releasing Ilia from his grasp. With lightning reflexes, Link stood up and caught Ilia before she hit the ground.

She caught her breath and stared at him. "Link?" was all she could say.

"It's ok Ilia. Everything is going to be fine. I can beat him now," he reassured her and set her down gently, sitting down. "I promise." He smiled and walked over to his sword, picking it up. The pain was numbed, almost unnoticeable. His broken arm had stopped bleeding, and the stab wound from Krow's sword was sealed up. Although he still felt sore, he felt strong, invincible almost. He turned to face Krow, who was clenching his fists.

"Why won't you stay down!?" he shouted.

"Triforce of Courage." Link smirked, pointing to the glowing triangle on the back of his hand. "Its power will be your end, Krow! Now you will truly feel the sting of my blade!" Link lifted his sword out in front of him and concentrated on it. He didn't know what he was doing, but he tried channeling his power into it. Suddenly, its blade began to glow a bright gold. The hilt began to shine, and the crossguard began to transform, looking like a pair of wings, resembling the design of the Master Sword. The blade extended, and the Triforce symbol engraved itself into the fuller near the hilt. The shining light faded, but the sword remained a golden color. It seemed that Link's desire was to replicate the Master Sword, and he had turned the sword into a sacred blade. He smiled at his work, giving the sword a few swings. After that, he began walking towards Krow, who was obviously afraid.

"I-I-I… stay back!" he warned. He threw an energy ball at Link, who knocked it away with his sword. Krow growled and threw another, and this time Link batted it back at Krow. Krow put his hand out and bounced it back to Link, who again sent it towards Krow. They volleyed this ball back and forth, with each hit bringing Link closer and closer to Krow as he calmly advanced. The ball gained such great speed that Link continually swung, smashing it against Krow's barrier over and over. Link performed a spin attack and sent the ball crashing into Krow while simultaneously leaping into the air. He brought his sword down onto Krow's head, smashing him into the ground. Krow jumped back up, then vanished as he'd done before. He reappeared behind him at a safe distance.

"How? Where did you get this power?" Krow's voice was raised once again, and Link noticed a similarity in his rage to Zant. All Link had to do now was wait for Krow to make a mistake.

"This power was given to me by the Goddesses, to each of the heroes like me! Each threat to Hyrule has been vanquished by the Hero of Time, just as I will do to you, Krow!" Link pointed his sword at Krow glared with a look of sheer determination.

"To HELL with your gods!" Krow shouted. "They sealed my people away for eternity, and I will defy them by killing every last one of their creations! Starting with you! Now witness the horror of my _true_ power!" Krow lifted his arms to his side and began emanating a dark aura. He laughed as he charged up whatever new power this was. Link didn't feel like giving him the chance to show it off. He rushed towards Krow, whose face quickly turned from malice to horror. Link shouted and thrust his sword through Krow's chest. Krow's breath was caught in his throat and he fell to his knees, which brought him to eye level with Link. Link stared firmly into his eyes, watching as they slowly rolled back into his head. He then yanked the sword out of Krow's chest, causing him to collapse face first onto the ground. He dissolved into black particles faded away into the night air.

Link breathed a sigh of relief, and as he did, the glow from his Triforce faded. The sword reverted back to its regular form, and Link suddenly felt very tired. The strength left him, and he slowly eased himself onto the ground.

"Link!" he heard Ilia shout, followed by footsteps. Ilia turned him over and held him in her arms. "Link… you did it," she whispered.

He smiled. "Yeah… I guess I did." He closed his eyes and let himself slip into unconsciousness.

"… Thank you …"

**That felt SO good! Krow was an especially difficult character to name, but with the help of one of my close friends, I think it does him justice. I really enjoyed writing his scenes. It was a long chapter, definitely the longest, by far, but it was quite the trip! I'm glad I decided to split this one and chapter 7 up. **

**On another note, if you liked what you read, please don't forget to follow it and give a review! Thank you for reading, and stay posted for the next (and I'm pleased to say the FINAL) chapter! I'm not sure how long it will take, but I'll try to get it out to you as soon as I can! Thanks!**

**~musicfrommykeyboard**


	9. Chapter 9, Confession

**Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the final chapter of my first ever fanfiction! It has been an incredible journey writing this, and I can honestly say that I never would have gotten through it all if it had not been for the support of the community. So for those of you that have been following this work, this is for you. Please enjoy my conclusion to this story!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Confession

Link was torn from unconsciousness by a cold, stinging sensation on his brow. He let out a low grunt and crinkled his nose before opening his eyes.

"You're awake! How are you feeling?" Link could tell that it was Ilia speaking, but the light was too intense for him to see clearly. He tried to move his left hand to shield his eyes, but was immediately met with a sharp pain.

"Ah!" He gave an exasperated sigh and let his hand fall. "Well, not the greatest, but it could be worse," he said. He laughed a little and continued. "It's a bit bright, though."

"Oh, sorry!" Ilia said. He heard some shuffling and the sound of metal sliding on metal. "Is that better?"

The light receded to a comfortable level and Link began to take in his surroundings. He was in a tent with the opening facing towards the sun, which was now blocked by a curtain. Ilia was crouched next to him with a damp cloth in one hand and a smile on her face. "Yes, much better," Link replied.

"Good. Sorry about that, I just wanted to sunlight on you so I could see your cuts better. Speaking of which, try to hold still for a few minutes." Ilia lightly leaned onto his chest, which Link now noticed was bare, with her free hand and gently began dabbing the cloth on his forehead. The sharp pain that had awoken Link returned and he flinched slightly before forcing himself to relax as Ilia continued to work.

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Only a couple hours. The battle ended not shortly after you defeated Krow, and I called Epona to bring you back here. Naturally, I insisted that I take care of instead of one the other field medics." Ilia probably couldn't tell, but her cheeks turned slightly rosy. "They're still bringing the wounded into camp. We won, by the way." She smiled at her little tease.

"Really, I wouldn't have guessed," Link jested sarcastically. "How did that all go down?"

"I think you should hear it from Shad. He pulled us through it, after all!"

As if on cue, Shad burst through into the tent curtain. "I came as soon as I could! Is he going to make it?" Ilia stifled a laugh as Shad rushed over to Link and fidgeted with his glasses. "Oh, Goddess's Love, you're alright!"

"Of course he's 'alright', Shad," Ilia snorted. "I told you that he wasn't in any serious condition. And stop messing with his bandages! I just got his arm fixed up, and I haven't even started on his shoulder yet."

Shad drew his hands away as Link glanced down at his shield arm. It was wrapped up in white bandages with a sling over his shoulder. "Is it bad?" he asked.

"Hardly," Ilia replied. "Give it a few days in the cast and we'll see how it looks. Should be perfectly healed in a couple weeks. Honestly, I don't know how an injury like that could have healed so quickly, except on account of whatever magic you managed to pull out of your pouch at the last minute. Have you always been able to do that?"

"Well… not exactly?" Link didn't know where to begin on that subject.

"Oh, Link, you simply _must_ elaborate on your skirmish with the Twilit demon!" Shad begged. Link swore he was acting just like the children back in Ordon.

"I think that's a tale for another time, Shad," Ilia said.

Link agreed. "Frankly it's all a blur right now. How about you tell us how you managed to rally our troops and conquered an entire army!"

"Well, since you seem so interested, I have no choice but to oblige." Shad sat back against the center poll of the tent and made himself comfortable. "So there I was, in the thick of the battle. The Bublin ranks were closing in tightly around our forces, and the soldiers were growing weary. Then, out of nowhere, a horde of mounted warriors on great beasts came charging through our men, and we were thrown and scattered to the side like mice. They barreled through us again and again, breaking our ranks and crushing our moral. It seemed like all hope was lost!" Ilia rolled her eyes at Shad's dramatic recount, but he didn't seem to notice as he continued without falter. "Thinking quickly, I called for the remaining Gorons to form a defensive line to prepare for the next charge, and so they did. Next I called for Prince Ralis to ready his men to overtake the riders as they passed, so they positioned themselves behind the Gorons. The huge boars ran towards our troops again, but this time we were ready! The Gorons slowed the massive animals just enough for the agile Zora warriors to sling themselves onto the boar's backs, throwing the monsters off, at which point they were set upon by the foot soldiers. The Zoras skillfully took control of the beasts, using them against the Bublins while our army reassembled. We began to press forward, and then something extraordinary occurred. A wave of shock seemed to ripple through the Bublin soldiers, with the epicenter at the fort. I could see a clearing at the base of the walls, and using my telescope, I found quite the site to behold! There, in the midst of the sea of monsters, stood a victorious Rusl atop the dead body of King Bublin, his ugly head pierce through by a sword!"

Link could scarcely believe it. "Truly, old Rusl slayed that behemoth? I mean, sure, I've beaten him before, but those were tough battles, and I never knew Rusl had it in him!"

Ilia interjected, "Oh come on Link, you made it look so easy on the Great Bridge!"

Link's memory flashed to the day when he escorted Ilia, Prince Ralis and Telma across Hyrule Field, in the process besting King Bublin once again. "Well, it was a little bit of a different fight when we weren't on horseback, err… or boarback, well, you know what I mean." Link and Ilia chuckled, but then Link suddenly stopped, turning to back to Shad. "Shad, I'm sorry, we got a little side-tracked. Please, continue."

Shad smiled. "It's no problem! Besides, there's actually not more to tell. After King Bublin went down and we turned the tide, the majority of the Bublins fled back to the desert. A few of our horseback soldiers trailed behind them to make sure they indeed left. They've yet to report back, but I imagine that we won't be seeing any activity from those creatures for quite some time."

"Well, I'm glad everything worked out, for the most part," Link said, but he quickly remembered that he hadn't learned the fate of the rest of his strike force, especially Auru, mortally wounded, and Ashei, left alone to defend him. He anxiously inquired about them, "Shad, did Auru and Ashei make it alright?"

"Well, Ashei got beat up pretty bad, but it would take a lot more to bring her to her knees. She's a tough girl." Shad's eyes glanced off to the side for a moment, as if lost in thought. He then turned back to Link. "Auru was pretty weak from blood loss when we got to him, but he was conscious. Apparently he'd been guiding and coaching Ashei the entire time. They'll both be ok, don't worry. I wish I could say the same for Captain Ralin…"

Link winced. He felt partially responsible for his death, even if it was Krow who threw the spear that pierced his heart. Link then sighed and lowered his eyes. Ilia placed her hand over his, and he looked up to her. She was smiling ever so slightly; a cautious, sympathetic smile, while her eyes were equally as sad as him.

"I'm sure you tried, Link. It wasn't your fault," she said, practically whispering.

Shad suddenly felt very ashamed of his careless comment. "I… I think I'll get going now," he said, rising to his feet and slowly walking towards the tent flap, as if he were walking on egg shells. "Get well soon, Link." He smiled and stepped outside.

Ilia let out a soft sigh. Neither one of them said anything for a few minutes. It was a comfortable silence, and they didn't need to speak to each other to know what they were thinking. After about 5 minutes of this, neither one of them wanted to be the one to break the silence, but eventually Link opted to do it.

"How are your injuries?" he asked simply.

"Nothing too bad. I've had enough time to recover from the initial shock. I'm still… a little sore," she admitted. "But you, Gods above, I don't know how you took such a beating like that! Suddenly, your hand glows, you make a magic sword, act like none of your injuries ever happened, and then kill Krow in under a minute! And when you turned into a wolf… I just… I don't even know what to think of it! How did you even discover you could do that?"

"Oh boy, this is a long story…" Link said.

Ilia smiled. "We've got time," she said. "Here, I'll even continue working on your wounds while you tell it." She scooted over to him and brought the medical supplies close to her, beginning by cleaning the area around Link's stab wound in his side. "Well, go on!"

Link took a deep breath and began. "Well, it was actually very shortly after we were attacked at the spring. I was knocked unconscious, and when I came to, I don't know how long it was, I ran as fast as I could towards Faron Woods. When I'd crossed the bridge, I saw a giant black barrier with a lot of orange symbols and markings on it."

"Eerie…" Ilia commented.

"Suddenly, a big black hand reached out from the other side of the barrier and pulled me through. It was a shadow beast from the Twilight Realm, and all of Faron Woods, along with the rest of Hyrule too, had been covered in the Twilight. The monster looked like it was about to finish me off, when my hand suddenly started hurting a lot, and it was glowing. See, this little triangle right here." Link lifted his hand slightly, and Ilia carefully lifted it up closer to her face, making sure not to hurt Link's injured shoulder.

"Oh right, you said you have the Triforce of Courage! To think, a lazy farm boy like you could be chosen by the Gods!" They laughed.

"Anyway, the monster let me go and I fell to my knees. Then I transformed for the first time. I passed out from the pain, because believe me, it isn't a pleasant process."

"So… what is it like, being a wolf and all?"

"It's got its perks. I used my heightened sense of smell to track down the kids to Kakariko village, find you, and eventually that special statue given to you by Impaz."

"Wow, that is pretty cool! So… how about just… you know, being a wolf though?"

Link didn't really know what she was getting at. "Like, in general? How does it feel?"

"I mean, do you have wolf instincts and wolf thoughts? Do you ever go and hunt wild animals and howl at the moon?"

"Actually, I did do a lot of howling. I was able to call a specially spirit to help me train my sword skills by howling in special places. And no, I didn't go hunt and eat raw meat or anything, I still had my own thoughts and tastes. Unfortunately, one of my best methods for damaging opponents in my wolf form was to bite them, and sometimes, I'll be honest, they tasted really bad." Ilia giggled and covered her mouth. "But I did notice that sometimes it was harder to think properly while in my wolf form. It wasn't too bad though, since Midna was pretty good at…" His voice trailed off. It had kind of slipped out on accident.

"Who's Midna?" Ilia asked, puzzled. "You've never mentioned that name before."

Link sighed. It was already out there, so he had to explain it now. "She was… my guide, to put it simply. She was a Twili, like Krow and Zant, but she was way smaller, like a child. But that was only because Zant put a curse on her, and… there's a lot to say about her, I guess. Too much."

"Why haven't you ever mentioned her before?" Ilia didn't seem angry, only confused.

"I don't know, really. I guess I wanted to keep her a secret from other people, since Zant was always looking for her." Link knew that wasn't the only reason. He thought that Ilia might get jealous over another girl being so close to him. "And after she left to rule the Twilight Realm, I kind of hoped I could forget about her…"

"Wh-why? It sounds like you cared about her!"

"I did! I really did! But after I beat Ganondorf, the curse on her was broken and she regained her true form and full power again. After that, she left so quickly and broke the Mirror of Twilight, which connects our realm to hers, and well… I never got to say goodbye. I don't like to think about it."

Ilia looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it hurt you to talk about it."

"No, I'm sorry for never mentioning her. I don't know why I didn't. I think she liked you. She always teased me about you."

Ilia smiled and looked up at him. "She did?"

"Yeah…" Link said. "She knew how close we are."

This answer seemed to satisfy Ilia. There was an extended silence, and Ilia spoke up again, "Was she pretty?"

The question caught Link off guard, and he didn't have time to mask his reaction. He could feel his cheeks turning bright red as the image of Midna in her true form flooded his mind. "Well, I guess in a way… being a Twili and all… you could've maybe…" Ilia smiled and raised an eyebrow at him. She knew full-well that she had him trapped. "Ok, yeah, she was really pretty," Link admitted. There was no way to play it off.

Ilia laughed. "That's what I thought." She continued to chuckle for a few moments, then settled down and sighed. "At least you're honest. Not that it would matter, since I could tell if you were lying."

"That you could, that you cloud," Link agreed.

"Well, I won't ask you any more on the subject. I think I've drilled you with enough questions. Now it's time to work on your shoulder. Here, let me scoot around behind you." Link shifted himself around as Ilia moved behind his head. She got on her knees and moved Link's head into her lap. She then examined his shoulder. "It looks like the swelling has gone down. Let me just see how it feels, pain-wise, ok?" Link nodded and she proceeded, gently applying pressure to it in various places, her nimble fingers dancing over his shoulder. "Where does it hurt the most?" she asked.

"Actually, it's just sore, more than anything. It feels like there's a lot of tension wrapped up in a big knot."

"A big knot, hmm? Let's see what we can do about that." Ilia then started massaging his shoulder's muscles, gauging the tense points by the resistance of the muscles. Link bore through the initial pain as his shoulder began to relax and loosen up. Soon the pain melted into a satisfying pressure.

"Ugh, that feels good," he sighed.

"Does it? Great!" Ilia continued her work until the shoulder was completely worked down. "Awesome, it seems like your arm is getting along just fine." She started getting up when Link stopped her.

"Wait, Ilia…"

"Yeah, Link?"

"Do… do you think you can do my other shoulder too?"

Ilia smiled. "Of course." She sat back down and began massaging his other side. Link closed his eyes and let himself go limp. Ilia's hands relaxed his tense muscles as Link periodically let out soft sighs and moans. Without even asking, Ilia then moved to Link's shoulder blades and neck regions. At this point, Link let himself succumb to the pleasure and started to drift off, slowing his breathing.

A few minutes later, Ilia started humming, but Link couldn't quite place the tune. He knew it from somewhere, but he wasn't sure. Part of it sort of sounded like the song he used to call Epona, but it wasn't quite right. Finally, he asked, "What song is that?"

"It was the lullaby my mother always used to sing to me," she answered. "I can't remember the words anymore, but I still know the tune. Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I still hum it to myself. It puts me out every time."

"It's very pretty," Link said, letting himself relax again. Ilia took his cue and continued her work, humming her song. Link's mind wandered and soon he lost track of time. He wasn't sure if he'd fallen asleep or if he was just out of it, but little prick on his scalp alerted him. "Ow!" he said.

"Sorry," Ilia said. "I accidentally twisted your hair."

"My hair? What are you doing to my hair?"

"I guess you were really asleep!" Ilia exclaimed. "After a while, I was about to get up when I heard your deep breathing. I didn't want to disturb you, so I just stayed put."

Link opened his eyes and looked at Ilia's glowing face. She seemed very content. "But… you still haven't told me what you're doing to my hair!" he stated.

"Oh, well I had some hair ties in my pouch, and I started putting some of them in your hair."

"You _what_?" Link moved his good arms up to his head and found little pony tails sticking out from his scalp. "Get these out of my hair, right now!"

"I just thought it would be fun!" she said, giggling.

Frustrated, he began tugging at one of them, but it snagged and caught his hair. "Ow ow ow!"

"Stop it, you're going to rip your hair off!" She batted his hand away and started working on getting it off, but it was still too slow for Link. He tried sitting up and getting another one free, but Ilia stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. "Oh no you don't!" She quickly got up and sat on his chest, straddling him and holding his arms against his side with her legs.

"Hey!" Link shouted.

"Look here, fussy-butt." Ilia stuck her finger so close to Link's nose he swore he could have raised his head up and bit it. "I told you to stay still, and as your doctor, I will not allow my patients to be unruly." She put her hands on her hips. "Now, I'm going to get these out of your hair for you, and you're just going to have to be patient and wait until I'm finished."

Link sighed, aware that this was a fight he couldn't win. "Yes, _mom_." He pouted his lips and didn't make eye contact. Ilia rolled her eyes and started working out the hair ties. Link could probably wriggle out from her grasp, but both of them knew he wouldn't. Link knew better then to try to wrestle away from Ilia. She'd just pin him down again, like she always managed to do.

Ilia leaned down to make it easier for herself and rested her elbows on Link's shoulders. Link became very aware of the potentially awkward position she had placed them in, and he tried to push the thought out of his mind. He kept his head to one side, keeping Ilia's partially exposed chest out of his line of sight. He didn't know why he suddenly felt uncomfortable around her, but he could feel his face burning up. He dared a glance at Ilia's face and found her pleasantly smiling. They made eye contact and he shyly darted his gaze away. She laughed to herself and continued to work. Link couldn't deny that the sensation of Ilia's fingers running through his hair, along with the whole situation they were in, was slightly arousing, but he suppressed his thoughts and tried to turn his attention away from it. _Maybe conversation will help_, he thought. He spoke the first thing that came to his mind.

"Ilia?"

"Yeah, Link?"

"I never really thanked you for saving me during the fight. So… thank you."

Ilia paused and looked at his face. "Link, what are you talking about? You're the one who saved _me_!"

"Well, I mean, I never would have survived long enough if you hadn't come in and helped me fight him." Link didn't exactly know where he was going with this. "And… I don't think I ever could have beaten him if I wasn't so bent on protecting you."

"I'm glad you think so, but there's no doubt that you were the hero. I just watched from the sidelines."

"But see, you did so much more than that! You fought all the way into the fort and stood up against a monster, knowing full well that you had no chance at winning! And most of all, you put everything on the line, even your life, just to save me. That makes you a hero in my book."

Ilia sighed deeply and place one of her hands on Link's shoulder. When she spoke, it sounded like an apology, "Link… you know how I feel about you. I've felt that way for some time now, and it's not about to change." She paused, leaving Link to lose himself in the memory of that night that felt so long ago, laying on her rooftop, gazing at the stars. "I just… I couldn't bring myself to leave you be. I'm not _like_ you, Link. I'm not a selfless hero who saves the kingdom and never asks for anything in return. My actions weren't selfless, they were selfish. I did it because I couldn't imagine my life without you. I didn't want to… to lose you."

A long silence followed, and it wasn't a comfortable one at that. Link had so many jumbled up thoughts running through his head, but he couldn't decide which ones to act on. Instead of speaking, he finally turned his head back to look at Ilia. She avoided his eyes, hanging her head. Link lifted up his good arm and gently placed his hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes and reached up, softly grabbing his fingers with hers. She opened her eyes and slowly met his gaze. Link noticed for perhaps the first time just how beautiful her emerald eyes were. "I'm sorry for breaking my promise," she said. "My promise to leave for home if I was in danger."

"No." Link shook his head.

Ilia simply stared.

"No," he repeated. "I'm the one who should be apologizing, not you. Ilia, I'm sorry I made you promise something so hard for you. I'm sorry I made you cry before I left for battle. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye. I'm sorry I couldn't keep Krow from hurting you. I'm sorry I had to throw you off a bridge!" His voice rose, filling with passion as he continued to speak. "I'm sorry I blasted you out of a cannon! I'm sorry I left so suddenly the night I got back! I'm sorry I hurt you and made you cry when you tried to kiss me! I'm sorry I had to drag you into this whole mess!" His eyes started watering, ever so slightly. "Ilia, I am so sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me most! I never meant to hurt you, and I never want to hurt you again!"

Ilia sat there, her mouth slightly agape, in shock from his confession.

Link took a deep breath and closed his eyes, composing himself. He lifted himself up with his wounded arm, but he surprisingly didn't feel any pain. While propping himself up, he wrapped his other arm around Ilia, drawing them together.

Ilia's arms were trapped by her side, her hands resting on his shoulders. She was trembling softly, her breaths quiet and shallow. Her mouth hung slightly open, and all she could utter was, "Link…"

"Ilia, I can't change the mistakes that I've made. But I can try to fix it. I don't know why it took me so long to figure all of these feelings out, but I understand now. I don't ever want to leave your side. I always want to be here for you. Because Ilia, I…" He swallowed hard. _Don't freeze up now, Link! Say it!_ He took a deep breath and let the words fall out, "… I love you."

Ilia gasped softly as Link moved his face towards hers, but she didn't resist. He firmly pressed his lips to hers and kissed her. She closed her eyes and took a sharp breath in through her nose, squeezing his shoulders with her hands. Then she let out something between a sigh and a moan and let herself melt into his embrace. She returned the kiss and wrapper her arms around him. After a short while, she broke off the kiss and smiled. "I love you too, Link," she whispered and kissed him again, this time with more force. Link eased himself down onto his back and ran his other arm down to the small of her back. Ilia shuddered and moved her hands as well, one to the side of his head and the other to the top. She ran her fingers through his hair, producing a blissful sigh from the young man beneath her. They lost themselves to each other and let their instincts take over. Things heightened slowly as their kisses became more intimate. Ilia began dragging her tongue across Link's lips, requesting entry. Link obliged and Ilia entered into his mouth, causing Link to groan with pleasure. Ilia seemed satisfied with this effect and chuckled to herself. It became clear to Link that Ilia was leading this adventure, so he passed full control over to her. Ilia slid her hands down his neck and back to his shoulders, gently massaging them as she prolonged her kisses. Just when Link thought that nothing could ruin the moment, of course something did. They nearly jumped out of their skins when they heard a voice from the entrance to the tent.

"Ew, gross," Ashei said bluntly.

"Aaaahh!" wailed Ilia as she rolled off Link, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. Link was mortified as well, his heart beating furiously inside his chest.

Ashei smiled. "If you two are done doing… whatever that was, lunch's ready." She turned to go when Ilia called out to her.

"Wait, Ashei!" Ashei paused and poked her head into the tent. "You're not going to… tell anyone… are you?"

"Why not?" she asked.

"I don't know why, I just… we…" she sighed and shook her head.

"We kind of want to… you know… tell people ourselves, when we're ready," Link offered. Ilia nodded in agreement.

Ashei shrugged. "Fine by me, but if people ask, I'll tell them I found you two together." With that, she walked off, leaving Ilia and Link to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Well… that was… exciting," Link said

"Yeah, it was getting kind of intense there." Ilia blushed.

"Yeah." They both stared at the ground, a little ashamed of themselves. After another silence, Link spoke again. "Let's go get some food."

Ilia smiled. "Ok."

Link got to his feet and offered his hand to Ilia. She received it and he pulled her up. She let her momentum carry her against his bare chest, and she quietly admired his physique. Their eyes met and the smiled, then Ilia said, "Oh," and grabbed his white undershirt off the ground, handing it to him. He slipped it on and they walked out of the tent, strolling slowly though the camp. They walked into the crowd, and they were met with a moderate amount of cheers and praise. They found a seat near the rest of their friends. Rusl, Darbus, Renado, Shad, Auru, Ashei, Ralis, and even Telma were all gathered around a small fire with log benches set up around it. Link served both Ilia and himself a bowl of soup from the pot over the fire before sitting down next to each other, with Telma next to Ilia and Rusl next to Link.

Rusl patted Link on the back and gave his shoulder a friendly shake. "Great to see you're still with the living, Link. You had us worried when Ilia came out of the fort with you limp body on Epona's back!"

Darbus spoke up from the other side of the fire. "Ha ha ha! I didn't believe for a moment that brother Link could be killed by one man! No, this one's made of tougher stuff!"

The Zora prince smiled. "We're all just glad you're ok."

"Thank you, really, it means a lot to me," Link said. "But I simply must ask you, Rusl, how in the world did you defeat King Bublin?"

Rusl laughed. "Well, Link, as I'm sure you know, that beast swings that axe of his slower than you get out of bed in the morning!" Ilia giggled. Rusl continued, "Truth be told, I probably wouldn't have fared so well if Ilia hadn't swooped in and stunned him so badly!"

Link turned in amazement to Ilia. "You did _what_?"

"Oh come on, Rusl! I only shot him with a few arrows!" Ilia's voice was full of pride, contrary to her words.

"Oh, as if that was all!" Rusl turned to Link. "I'm in the middle of fighting this guy, trying to find an opening, when all of the sudden, I see Ilia riding Epona through the sea of Bublins! She was hacking and slashing her way through them, when all of the sudden, she stands up on top of Epona's back, fires multiple arrows dead center into King Bublin's head, Epona jumps onto the beast, and Ilia springboards herself over the wall, with a flip to top it all off!"

"Bravo, Ilia! Who knew she had it in her?" shouted Telma. "If I'd known you were so capable, I wouldn't have even asked for the soldiers help to get us to Kakariko village!" Telma laughed heartily, but Ilia simply sat there, smiling.

The excitement in the group died down a little as they resumed eating their food. Link hadn't realized how hungry he was until he took his first few spoonfuls of soup. After he'd swallowed enough to calm his stomach, he turned his attention to Auru and Ashei, who were sitting next to each other on the other side of Telma. Auru had a number of bandages wrapped around his chest, assumedly covering his arrow wound. Ashei only had a few bandages, so Link figured she'd gotten by with few injuries. Link addressed the seasoned warrior, "How are you fairing, Auru?"

Auru paused from slurping up soup and said, "Just fine, thanks to Ashei. Even though I couldn't fight much, we worked together to survive the onslaught of Bublins. Eventually, the dead bodies piled around us must have scared the stupid brutes, because by the end of the battle none of them would come near us!" He laughed and turned his head to the pale-skinned girl next to him. "How many do you think you killed, Ashei?"

"73 Bublins and 4 boars," she replied, coolly.

Auru laughed again, but stopped suddenly to cough, holding his chest wound with one arm. He composed himself and shook his head to clear it and continued. "You all should have seen her! If you think she's just cold and emotionless, you wouldn't believe how she screamed and shouted her way through the hordes! I tell ya, there's passion in this young woman yet!" Ashei punched him in the arm, and considerably hard at that, before looking down at the ground, smiling. Link thought to himself that Ashei probably looked to Auru as a father figure of sorts after she'd been left without any parents. The thought brought his mind back to Rusl, and Link suddenly thought of an important detail.

"Hey Rusl, when do we plan on going back to Ordon?" he asked.

"Good question," Rusl responded. He paused for a moment, furrowing his brow, and then seemed to come up with an answer that satisfied him. "I suppose we'll leave as soon as we hear back from the scouts to make sure there's no more Bublins left. I think we can all agree that we need some time to settle down from all of this." There were nods all around the fire.

After about an hour of conversation, news spread around camp that the scouts were returning. Shad went to go speak with them, and everyone waited with anticipation. A few minutes later, he returned with a bright smile.

"We're in the clear! No sign of any enemy activity anywhere! We won!" Many shouts of joy were heard around the camp, and Link's friends all got up to say bid farewell and return home. Link first went up to the group heading back to Castle Town. He shook the hands of Auru and Shad, exchanged a brief smile and a simple nod with Ashei, and was then promptly bear-hugged by Telma.

"Listen here, Link," she said after releasing him. "You and Ilia need to come visit us in Castle Town before too long, ya hear?" Link nodded and she continued. "Now, take good care of her, and I'll make sure took look out for any new adventures for the two of you!" She winked and blew a kiss before turning back to the others.

Next Link walked up to Prince Ralis and offered his hand. The young Zora took his hand and then pulled Link into a firm embrace. "I'll miss you two," he said. "I'll make sure to invite you to my crowning as the new Zora king. Once I come of age, that is." He smiled, and Link patted his shoulder.

"I'll be looking forward to it," he replied. "See you soon." Next he walked up to Renado. The shaman took Link into his arms and sighed. "We'll make sure to bring the kids for a visit soon," Link said.

"Thank you, Link. For everything you've done for our village." Renado released him and placed a hand on Link's shoulder. "The gorons will be helping us rebuild, so that someday, our town will once again thrive and be the lively village it once was. And even when that day comes, I will still be there for you, should you need anything on your journeys."

"And don't forget to visit us too, brother!" Darbus joined in. "I'm sure there are many eager warriors hoping for a chance to prove themselves against the Hero of Hyrule in a wrestling match!"

Link laughed. "Perhaps we'll come warm ourselves in the spring this winter, when it gets too cold for us in Ordon!"

Darbus laughed and slapped Link across the back, almost knocking him over. Link steadied himself and laughed, then returned to Ilia and Rusl, who had also said their goodbyes. Ilia handed Link the horse call, holding his hands in hers for a few moments. Link smiled and then called over Epona. In a moment she'd arrived, and Link lifted Ilia into the saddle. He then took the reins, walking beside Epona and Ilia, and the four of them set off for Ordon, waving goodbye to their friends as the left.

**. . .**

About halfway back to Ordon, after much conversation, they walked in silence. Link glanced up and Ilia, who had a furrowed brow and was looking off into the distance.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Ilia snapped out of her trance and looked at him. "No, I was just thinking about something?"

"What were you thinking about?"

"I was just… wondering. How are we going to… you know, tell people?"

"Tell people what?" asked Rusl.

Link had kind of forgotten he was there for a moment. "Oh, well, um… that Ilia and I are kind of… you know, actually…"

Rusl laughed. "What, 'together'?" Ilia nodded. "I doubt they need to be told! I mean, frankly, half the village probably already thought you were, myself included! This just happened now?" Rusl roared with laughter.

Ilia's eyes opened wide. "Really?"

"I'm completely serious! I mean, I thought that every time you walked off to the spring together that you were going to smooch it up!"

Ilia's face turned beet red. "Oh dear," she murmured.

"I'm only teasing you two." Rusl's laughter slowly died down. "But in all seriousness, there's really not much you need to say. Honestly, you could just start giving each other pecks on the cheek when people are around, and the news will get around pretty fast. You're not about to throw anybody into a tizzy over it."

Ilia laughed, saying "Except maybe Beth, when she finds out that Link is no longer available!"

Now it was Link's turn to be embarrassed. It wasn't a big secret that Beth had a crush on him for a long time, but it seemed she'd grown out of it. Honestly, Link thought she'd started to develop a thing for Talo, but he could just be imagining it.

"I just can't wait to finally sleep in my own bed," admitted Link.

"Oh, that's right! You never even got to stay a full night!" Ilia said. "I can't wait to see my papa. I'm sure he'll be worried sick about me, like he always is. What about you, Rusl?"

He smiled. "I just want to go home, spend some time with my family, and hold my new baby daughter again."

"Have you come up with a name yet?" asked Link.

"We've decided on 'Bailey'," said Rusl, proudly.

"Aw, that's a cute name!" Ilia sighed.

"Yes, we think so too!" Rusl laughed.

Not that much later, they entered Faron Woods and hurried they're pace a little, excited to be home. They passed the Ordon spring, and where Colin, Talo, Malo, and Beth were all playing. Huge smiles spread across their faces as they turned to face them, and they all shouted and ran towards them. Colin jumped into Rusl's arms and he swung him around, laughing. Beth and Talo jumped up and down with excitement and ran into town to announce their entrance. Even Malo seemed excited to see them come home again. Link carried Ilia down from Epona when they reached his house at the edge of the village, and Epona walked over to her favorite spot beside the tree and laid down, rolling in the grass. Link and Ilia laughed and walked toward the village. Before they rounded the corner, Ilia wrapped her arm around Link's bandaged arm and leaned against him. He looked over at her, and she smiled. He returned the smile and placed his opposite hand over hers, and together they walked through the village proudly. While their reception wasn't as grand as when Link first returned, the townsfolk were happy they'd returned, unaware of the battle that had taken place just earlier that day. Link and Ilia walked straight to Ilia's house, from which Bo had just emerged to see what the commotion was about. He ran up to Ilia, who broke away from Link and threw herself into his arms. Ilia laughed as Bo gently hugged her, lifting her off the ground. He set her down and looked at Link, immediately noticing the cast on his arm.

"Link, what in the world happened to _you_?" he shouted. "You look like you took a nasty fall off your horse!"

"You don't know the half of it, sir!" Link smiled and put his good hand behind his head.

"Perhaps this is a story that would best be told inside, _over dinner_," Ilia emphasized.

Bo looked at her puzzled, then opened his mouth in epiphany, nodding. "Of course! Link, please, come on in and we'll hear all about it! I'll get the fireplace going." The three of them walked into the house.

**. . .**

A couple hours, a filling meal and a good number of shocking stories later, after Bo had finally settled down from his daughter getting caught in the middle of a battle, Link and Ilia climbed up to the roof of her house to watch the sunset. They brought a few pillows and a blanket up, knowing they'd be up there for a while. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and they watched as the horizon turned a beautiful orange. Link entertained Ilia with the story of how he flew up the river to the Zora's domain on a giant bird and then climbed a frozen waterfall. As the sky filled with stars and the air grew cold, they set up the pillows and climbed under the blanket together. Link finished the story and then they laid there in silence for a while.

Link suddenly said, motioning to the sky, "Which one do you think she is?"

"Who?" asked Ilia.

"Your mother."

Ilia looked up for a while, scanning the multitude of stars. "That one," she said, pointing to a bright one off near the western horizon. "She said she came from the west, so she's probably spending her time at home right now, but always keeping our village in view. What about your mother? Which one is she?"

"Hmm," Link pondered. "I'm not sure."

"Give it a few minutes, see which one is standing out to you."

Link gazed into the heavens searching for a star, any one that seemed to call out to him. "Still looking for one…" he murmured. Suddenly, a small beam shot across the sky; a shooting star! Link quickly pointed to it and said, "Look, quick! Make a wish!"

Ilia followed his finger. "Oh! Ummm… there, I got one."

Link made a wish of his own and then asked, "What did you wish for?"

"Hey, it won't come true if I tell you!" she said.

"Will you tell me if it does come true?"

"Of course! Now, have you found a star yet?"

Link looked up again to the point where the shooting star had disappeared, and a star suddenly flickered into view that he hadn't noticed before. It was very faint, but it was there. He pointed to it and said, "There, that tiny little one."

"You mean the one right below the two bright ones?" Ilia asked.

"No, the smaller one to the right of it. See?"

Ilia squinted, and then nodded. "Yeah, I see it. Why that one?"

"I dunno!" Link shrugged.

"That's it? 'I dunno'? No rhyme or reason?"

Link laughed. "Do I need one?"

"'I dunno'," Ilia replied. They both laughed.

Link took in a deep breath of crisp night air and sighed before he spoke. "Well, what do you think? Are you ready to go inside?"

"Actually, I kind of thought we could stay on the roof all night." Ilia leaned her head against Link's shoulder. "I kind of liked spending the night with you in that cave by the lake."

"Ok, why not?" Link replied. He couldn't actually think of a reason why they shouldn't. He tucked in the blankets and settled down before Ilia spoke again.

"Would… would you mind if we cuddled? Like we did that night?" she asked hesitantly. It was too dark for Link to see her face, but if he could, he would've seen her cheeks turning rosy.

Link paused for a moment to mull it over, then lifted the blankets up for her to move around. "Sure," he said. Ilia climbed onto him and wrapped her arms around him, sighing contently. After a brief moment, he had to ask, "Did you do this on purpose in the cave?"

Ilia laughed quietly. "Funny thing is, I didn't. I was just as surprised as you when we woke up in the morning."

Link kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Ilia."

"G'night, Link," replied Ilia, sleepily. Her breathing slowed and soon she was fast asleep, her face nuzzled into Link's neck.

Link stayed up for a little while longer, just pondering everything that had happened to him and Ilia over the past few days. Eventually, his tiredness caught up to him, and he let himself drift off to sleep.

**. . .**

"HEEEY! MR. LIIIIINK!" The familiar voice startled Link out of his dreams.

"You've got to be kidding me…" he muttered. He forced his mind into consciousness and opened his eyes. The first beams of sunlight were barely streaking across the horizon. "You've _got_ to be kidding me," he repeated. Link slowly climbed out from underneath Ilia, who murmured something unintelligible and shifted in her sleep. Link peered down onto the ground to see the Postman waving his arms.

"I have a special letter from Princess Zelda!" the Postman shouted.

"You have GOT to be KIDDING me!" Link shouted.

"No sir, I've got it right here! It's got the official Hylian Family-"

Link cut him off, "Yeah yeah yeah, I'm coming!" Link walked over to the ladder on the other side of the house and descended, grumbling the whole way down. If there was one thing that Link was not, it was a morning person. He climbed down the cliff, across the bridge over the stream and around the house to meet the Postman out front. The Postman stood rigidly awaiting him and slowly put his hand into his pouch and shuffled it around, then suddenly stopped and peered at Link out of the corner of his eye, grinning. When Link realized that he was waiting for his signal, he sighed and flicked his hand up, saying, "Just… do your thing…"

The Postman smiled and then started to pull out the letter. He then slowly started a low fanfare, "Buh duh duh duh, buh duh duh duh, buh duh duh duh," he repeated, heightening the pitch and the volume, finally whipping out the letter and holding it out in front of him with both hands, finishing with a climactic, "Dun dun dun DAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Link unceremoniously snatched the letter out of his hands, muttering, "How does he even know what that is…" He twirled it around in his hands, looking at the seal and the envelope, but didn't open it. He glanced back at the Postman, shockingly finding him leaning over Link's shoulder, peering at the letter with wide eyes and a huge grin on his face. "What the-!"

"Well, my business here is concluded!" the Postman shouted, snapping back into a saluting position. "Now, onto deliver the mail! After all, it's not going to deliver itself!" He promptly turned around and jogged off, pronouncing every step along the way.

"What a weirdo," said Link. He heard some shuffling up on Ilia's roof and glanced up. Ilia's head poked over the side, and she smiled.

"Hey, who's the letter from?" she asked.

"Princess Zelda, apparently," he replied.

"Really? Hold on, I'll be right down!" She disappeared from view. Moments later, she emerged from around the chicken fence and ran up to him. "Well, come on, open it up! What's it say?"

Link began tearing open the envelope, asking, "Come on, what do you think is in here?"

"I don't know, maybe a bunch of money for saving the kingdom _again_!" she offered.

"Ilia, how is Zelda going to put rupees into it? It's an envelope."

"Well… maybe it's like the deed to the castle or something." She laughed as Link pulled out the paper. Link opened his eyes overly wide when he opened it up. Ilia gasped. "What's it say?"

He turned to her and whispered, as if in disbelief, "You were right! It's the deed to the castle!"

Ilia squealed. "Really?!"

Link's face immediately broke into a smile. "No, of course not!" He burst into laughter.

"Hey!" Ilia frowned, trying to hide a smile.

"No, it's just a letter," Link said after he composed himself. "Here's what it says:"

Dearest Link, (Ilia rolled her eyes.)

I want to thank you for once again defending our kingdom in the face of insurmountable opposition, even from within the kingdom itself. And no, there isn't another party for this one. I was informed late last night of all the events that had transpired, specifically why half of my soldiers had gone missing from the castle. After the news of Captain Ralin's death, I finally realized my error in my actions, and I fully understand the consequences of my foolish actions.

"Is that supposed to be an apology?" Ilia asked, smugly.

"Hold on a second," Link said. He continued reading:

I must extend my most sincere apologies for my behavior over these past few days. I hope that you will forgive me enough to attend the late captains' funeral here this Friday, in three days' time. You may bring whomever you wish, and I encourage you to spend the night here before that day to avoid any possible mishaps. Again, I am deeply sorry for the conflicts that have arisen due to my foolishness, and please know that you still have my trust. I now seek to earn yours back again.

Link looked back up to Ilia. "You see?"

Ilia sighed. "Fine, I guess you can go."

"How about _we_ can go? Telma will want to see us again."

Ilia sighed again. "Ok. But don't expect me to stay in the castle with Zelda!"

"Wouldn't dream of it. Hey, there's still more written here," Link said, turning back to the letter:

On another note, I had the privilege to talk to a mutual friend of ours last night, and although she could not write to you directly, I've enclosed another letter with her message to you inside this envelope. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Sincerely,

Princess Zelda.

"Well, get the other letter out!" Ilia rushed him.

Link folded the other letter up again and placed it back into envelope after pulling out the second piece of paper, which had been tucked behind the first one. He opened it up, noting that it was still Zelda's handwriting. He read it aloud as before:

Link,

I wish to write to you and let you know that I am alive and well, and with the help of Princess Zelda, I hope this message can reach you. Krow disrupted my communication with you that night, but he only sealed me in my chamber until he could take Princess Zelda as well. Obviously, you thwarted him in those efforts, and I cannot thank you enough. Although I wish to return to the world of light, I am unable without the mirror. However, it is obvious that Krow succeeded in escaping our realm, so I must continue my search for a method to travel between them freely. It's a shame we couldn't spend more time here. The twilight clouds are so beautiful this time of year.

I miss you very much, but I am so happy things have finally settled down for you. As you return to a normal life, please never forget the adventures we had together. Through them, you've grown so much. I too will try to hold onto the things you and Zelda taught me; how to be selfless, brave, and compassionate for those around us, even those we know nothing of. Enjoy your life, and should the fates allow, we will see each other again someday, if not in this life, then the next one.

Your companion and friend,

Midna

Link wiped away a glinting sparkle away from his eye and smiled. Ilia leaned up against his arm and looked up at him. He bent down and brushed her hair away from her eyes and kissed her gently on the forehead. She pulled his face down and returned the kiss on his lips.

As the town started to stir and the sun peaked over the distant hills, Ilia said, "Come on, hero, let's go make some breakfast."

"Sure," Link replied. He let her lead him inside, ready to begin a new chapter of his life.

_The End_

* * *

**It has been such a pleasure to write this, and I am so glad I invested this much time into it. Thank you all for taking the time to read through this. It truly does mean a lot to me. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of it, and give it a favorite if you enjoyed it! **

**On another note, I enjoyed writing this so much that I already have another fanfiction lined up to begin writing! It will be a narrative of my recently started Pokemon "Nuzlocke Challenge"! Don't worry if you don't know what that is, everything else will be explained in the fanfiction itself. I can promise that it will be a real adventure, filled with many fun characters and a guarantee of a rollercoaster of feels as I work through it all! If you enjoyed my writing style, make sure to keep an eye out for it in the coming weeks. I think you can follow me as an author to be notified when I post the first chapter or something like that. Anyway, thank you once again for reading this and the support that the community has given. It really is encouraging to a new writer like me.**

**Until next time!**

**~musicfrommykeyboard**


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